AI

More than 100 million pending cases await Brazil courts, so it may not be surprising that the country’s Supreme Court Justice has a reportedly rosy view of AI in the court system, especially in time-sensitive civil and criminal matters. The potential for AI to help alleviate the backlog and potentially bring more balance and less bias may brush over the possible system errors and human rubber-stamping that come with it. This “Student Voices” podcast discusses Brazil’s use of AI in the court system and the areas ripe for more scrutiny–evaluations through RCTs and metric-based learning models.

In this “Student Voices” episode, HLS student Grace Gao interviews Ari Scourtas, Product and Research Manager of the Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School, about making AI legal tools accessible for people facing digital barriers. The discussion covers legal AI’s risks and opportunities for self representation and the expanding role libraries play in bridging the knowledge gap around AI.

Workplace justice issues take center stage in this Proof Over Precedent “student voices” episode focused on Reclamo AI, an AI chatbot, developed to help workers–especially immigrant communities — address wage theft and find local advocates. Joshua Medina, legal director for Pro Bono Net’s JusticiaLab, shares insight on the transformation of the tool, including its efforts to protect user privacy and to avoid unauthorized practice of law.

The low cost and accessibility of AI make it a potential game changer for pro se litigation and the future of affordable legal aid. But with the patchwork of state unauthorized practice of law (UPL) rules and no court resolution on AI’s UPL liability, it also faces an uncertain future as a legal tool. HLS students tackle the issue in the latest Proof Over Precedent and distinguish between legal information and legal advice—a key to general-purpose AI’s future in law.