Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

In contemplating the second generation of online courts, it would be hard to ignore the recent upsurge of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) for lawyers and judges. Scarcely a week passes without news of ‘an AI’ or a ‘robot lawyer’ that is outperforming or poised to replace traditional human lawyers in some legal task or other. Most leading law firms in the UK, for instance, have signed licence arrangements with AI providers and are effusing optimistically about their investments. I am especially interested in these claims because I have a life-long interest in the field—from 1983 to 1986, I wrote my doctorate on AI and law at Oxford University and have been intrigued by all relevant developments since.