Lord Chief Justice sets up advisory group for judiciary on Artificial Intelligence

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, has set up an advisory body to inform the judiciary about developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

The purpose of the group, to be chaired by Professor Richard Susskind, will be to offer guidance to the LCJ and to the senior judiciary on:

• the likely impact of developments in AI on the judiciary and the court system;
• ways of ensuring that judges are sufficiently trained on AI and its impact;
• the most pressing legal, ethical, policy, cultural and economic effects of AI.

In addition to Professor Susskind, the 10-person group will be made up of senior judges (including Lord Neuberger, past President of the UK Supreme Court; Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court; and Lady Justice Sharp, Vice-President of the Queen’s Bench Division) alongside leading experts on AI and law (including Kay Firth-Butterfield, the Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the World Economic Forum; and Professor Katie Atkinson, past president of the International Association for AI and Law).

Lord Burnett said: “It is vital that a modern Judiciary gives systematic thought to the long-term. AI is clearly one of the most important technologies of our day. So far, however, here and around the world, insufficient attention has been paid by judges to its impact on the work of the courts. Our new group should remedy this gap. I am grateful to them for bringing their considerable combined knowledge to the task.”

Richard Susskind said: “As our machines become increasingly capable, profound new possibilities and issues arise for courts, judges, and society generally. I look forward to tackling some of these, working with such a distinguished group.”