VOA科学技术2024--British Judges Get Permission to Use AI to Help with Writing

British Judges Get Permission to Use AI to Help with Writing

Judges in Britain and Wales have been given permission to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help them write legal opinions.

The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary is the organization that oversees¹ court systems and judges in Britain and Wales. It provided new rules on the use of AI last month.

While approving AI methods to support basic duties, the judiciary warned judges to never use such tools to carry out case research or legal examinations. The guidance said AI should not be used for those activities because the technology can produce false, misleading or biased² information.

Geoffrey Vos is Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales. He told The Associated Press the new rules aim to permit "the careful use of AI" to help judges with parts of their jobs. Vos added, however, that judges "must ensure that they protect confidence and take full personal responsibility for everything they produce."

Vos told Reuters that judges are already well-equipped to differentiate³ between real arguments and those prepared by AI when considering evidence. "Judges are trained to decide what is true and what is false and they are going to have to do that in the modern world of AI just as much as they had to do that before," he said.

Vos said he even thinks the technology might be used in the future to help resolve low-level legal disputes. He noted⁵ this could one day help reduce the large number of unresolved cases in the justice system. "I rule nothing out as to what may be possible."

But Vos said he does not feel that people and businesses currently have the confidence to trust AI to independently resolve legal issues.

Ryan Abbott is a law professor at Britain's University of Surrey and wrote the book The Reasonable Robot: Artificial Intelligence and the Law. He told the AP there is currently a lot of debate over how AI should be legally restricted.

Abbott added that many people in the legal field are concerned about possible misuses⁶ of AI by lawyers and judges. "So I do think AI may be slower disrupting judicial⁷ activity than it is in other areas..." he added.

Court officials in some places issued rules years ago. In 2019, the European Commission body in charge of court systems issued ethical⁸ guidelines on the use of AI in courts. While the document is not current with the latest technology, it does offer guidance on accountability and ways to reduce risks linked to AI tools.

In the United States, the federal court system has not established any official guidance on the use of AI. But U.S. Supreme⁹ Court Chief Justice John Roberts did recently speak about pros¹⁰ and cons⁴ of the technology during a report on the high court's activities during 2023.

But individual courts and judges at both the federal and local levels have likely been setting their own rules, said Cary Coglianese. He is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Coglianese told the AP the rules approved by Britain's judiciary represent "the first, published set of AI-related guidelines in the English language." But he said he suspects "many judges" have already warned employees about the dangers of AI producing false information and possibly violating the privacy of individuals.

The new British guidance states that judges and court workers who have heavy job loads and write long decisions can effectively use AI as a valuable tool. This is especially true for judges and workers required to write background material or create briefs of existing information.

In addition to using the technology for emails or presentations, judges were told they could also use it to quickly find material they already know well.

But the guidelines warn that AI tools should not be used to find new information that cannot be independently confirmed. The judiciary's guidance also said the technology should not be used to provide detailed¹¹ analysis or reasoning.

Words in This Story

biased – adj. showing unfair support for or opposition¹² to someone or something because of personal opinions

confidence – n. the feeling or belief that someone or some group is good or able to succeed at something

disrupt – v. to interfere¹³ with a normal activity

ethical – adj. relating to what is right or wrong

accountable – adj. having to be responsible for what you do and able to explain your actions

pros and cons – n. arguments for and against something

analysis – n. the process of closely examining something

1 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

2 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

3 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

4 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 misuses   

n.用错，滥用( misuse的名词复数 )；误用者v.使用…不当( misuse的第三人称单数 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misuses his horses by giving them loads that are too heavy. 他给它们过重的负荷来虐待他的马。 来自互联网
• He often misuses his authority to tyrannize his underlings. 他常用手中的职权凌轹下属。 来自互联网

7 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

8 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。