China has developed an “AI Prosecutor,” according to reports.

Amidst growing use of AI in unconventional and human-centric fields, China has reportedly developed a prosecutor that can “throw the book” at an accused using artificial intelligence. Developed by Shanghai Pudong People’s Procuratorate, it is capable of pressing charges for offences such as dangerous driving, credit card fraud, gambling operations including theft and fraud. (WION)

China’s AI-enabled Legal Eagle

The AI prosecutor does not have a law degree but was trained on thousands of cases between 2015 and 2020. Now it can work off a desktop computer that has access to billions of data points stored in the system.

Chinese researchers claim that the AI “prosecutor” can file charges with over 97% accuracy given a verbal description of the facts. The researchers also said it had the potential to reduce the workload of human prosecutors, and in some case, even replace them.

As expected, natural prosecutors are up in arms, warning that the AI could make critical mistakes in complicated cases, and that its historical training would fail when pitted against new crimes in a fast-changing social environment.

AI is making intrusive inroads into other legal preserves as well.

In the US, where the pandemic forced contract lawyers to work from home, their employers installed AI-enabled surveillance using facial recognition software.

The ostensible objective: To ensure the security and confidentiality of clients’ sensitive data and documents.

The lawyers had a choice: Accept the intrusive systems inside their homes or risk losing the job.

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