The justice system is to take centre stage in the government's action plan for artificial intelligence, the lord chancellor and deputy prime minister revealed today. Announcing plans to develop AI-based systems to tackle the courts backlog, David Lammy said: ‘Artificial intelligence has the power to transform how we live, work, and govern for the better.' This 'impact for good' can already be seen in the justice system, he said. Meanwhile the legal sector will be the first area of focus for the government's AI Growth Lab, he revealed.
On the government's overall AI action plan, announced by the prime minister yesterday, Lammy said: ‘Half of the investment that is coming into artificial intelligence in Europe is coming to our country. We do want to be early adopters, of course there are things in our action plan that we have to continue to attend to but I would want those new jobs and innovation and creativity to come to our country and stay in our country so this is not a moment I think to close our ears and eyes to what is happening, it is to embrace it, to seek to shape it and to play a role which the United Kingdom has traditionally played in areas like this.’
The advisory AI Growth Lab, first announced by the government last year, is a cross-economy 'sandbox' in which developers can test products and services in real-world conditions under regulatory supervision before the software is trialled. The first area of focus will be lawtech, legal services and conveyancing services.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will be playing a ‘key role’, the regulator said. It will be joined in the lab by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Legal Services Board. The organisations say they will work to support tech experts and innovators to develop and test AI products within existing regulatory frameworks.
SRA chief executive Sarah Rapson said: ‘AI is already transforming legal services, from enabling small businesses to recover debts, to helping consumers navigate complex legal processes. These tools are improving access to justice in a practical and meaningful way. The lab will accelerate this progress, supporting the growth of legal services that benefit the public, and that maintain the high professional standards that underpin trust in the legal profession.’
Richard Orpin, LSB chief executive, said the lab would provide ‘the clarity and confidence that legal services providers and innovators need to innovate safely and quickly, driving growth in the sector’.
He added: ‘The AI Growth Lab is a pragmatic and timely initiative to accelerate the responsible adoption of AI in legal services. By bringing regulators and industry together, the lab can provide the clarity and confidence that legal services providers and innovators need to innovate safely and quickly, driving growth in the sector.
‘Our research shows that consumers are open to the benefits of AI in legal services, but that trust depends on strong safeguards, transparency and accountability. The lab provides a practical way to apply these insights in real settings to support and enable safe innovation.’
Ian Jeffery, Law Society chief executive, said: 'The AI Growth Lab has the potential to boost innovation by allowing legal service providers to safely test AI tools against the profession’s current robust legal standards.'
2 Readers' comments