AI will change how courts work.

AI is set to change legal work, but human judges will still be needed for the nuance of court cases. Well, that’s what Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court John Roberts thinks.

What’s going on here?

The US Chief Justice talked about how artificial intelligence will impact the US court system.

What does that mean?

In his year-end report, Roberts said AI is gonna majorly change how judges do their jobs and understand the role of AI in the cases they get. This comes amid the hype about AI that's already starting to change legal practices.

Roberts thinks AI can't fully replace important people in court because humans are needed to interpret body language and make good guesses. People still trust human judges more than machines. But he predicts human judges will be around "for a while" longer.

Why should I care?

The upshots are that AI will become vital for legal research and increase access to information, but risks invading privacy and making law less human. As examples like AI-generated text show, the technology often messes up legal briefs by citing fake cases or getting facts wrong.

So while AI has the potential to help the legal system, its limitations mean human judges are still essential. The transition period will be important as the courts decide how to adopt AI tools (or not).