Plan for AI legal assistants in England and Wales ‘cannot replace funding and staff’, lawyers say

A plan to roll out virtual legal assistants powered by artificial intelligence to crown courts has prompted warnings that the technology should not be used to “replace vital funding and additional court staff”. David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, will announce on Tuesday that AI assistants will be trialled in an effort to cut the backlog of court cases in England and Wales. Judges are already planning to use a new AI tool to help identify trial-ready cases and group similar hearings together, the Ministry of Justice said. But the Law Society, which represents more than 200,000 solicitors, has said that the technology should not be used to reduce staffing costs and the pilot must be “thoroughly evaluated”. Last year, two cases were blighted by made-up case-law citations that were either definitely or suspected to have been generated by AI. In a speech at London Tech Week, Lammy will say: “Artificial intelligence has the power to transform how we live, work and govern for the better. “This impact for good can be seen in our justice system, with thousands of days of admin work saved for our probation staff and the advent of new tools which aim to cut court backlogs and deliver swifter justice for victims.” There are concerns about the dangers of ramping up the use of AI. …