Professor Datzov recently presented his work-in-progress article, “Toward Automated Justice”, at the Junior Intellectual Property Scholars’ Workshop hosted by the University of Houston Law Center.
Datzov’s project explores the fundamental concerns regarding the implementation of AI into judicial decision-making and administration. In his article, Professor Datzov explains that while judicial independence is critical to our democracy, the judiciary currently lacks not only normative guidance but meaningful methods for the regulation, implementation, and enforcement of AI into how courts provide justice. He argues that meaningful guidance on the use of AI for judges in the United States is desperately needed as AI’s impact in the legal profession continues to grow.
Professor Datzov’s scholarly exploration of the important issue comes amid a growing interest and concern on how AI will impact the profession. For example, in his recent annual report on the federal judiciary, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts recently predicted that “human judges will be around for a while,” but also predicted with “equal confidence… that judicial work—particularly at the trial level—will be significantly affected by AI.”
As part of the two-day workshop, junior IP professors from around the country met to discuss and receive feedback on their ongoing research projects. The workshop offered an invaluable opportunity for those junior scholars to learn about some of the cutting-edge legal scholarship being done by their colleagues at other law schools and also provided a chance for those scholars to receive feedback on their own work.