15-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
AI could identify biases of judges in future, says lawyer
Constitutional lawyer GK Ganesan pointed to the Huckabee v Bloomberg case in 2024, in which the use of predictive AI secured the dismissal of major claims.
KUALA LUMPUR : Constitutional lawyer GK Ganesan suggests artificial intelligence, or AI, could be used to strategise legal arguments based on the biases of individual judges, citing a copyright lawsuit in the US.
'The Huckabee v Bloomberg litigation case was a popular lawsuit as the defence team utilised predictive AI to analyse the judge's history of scepticism.
'Judge McMahon would always dismiss complaints of digital copyright infringements. So, instead the defence argued about statutory interpretation, a subject she liked very much.
'That strategy secured the dismissal of major claims in November 2024,' he said at Marsden's Supreme Today AI launch event held at the AIAC Auditorium, Bangunan Sulaiman, here.
The Supreme Today AI model offers a variety of services, including an advanced database of legal documents and a precedent map for case law analysis, featuring detailed information on prior judgments rendered by local courts.
However, Federal Court Justice Nallini Pathmanathan cautioned against the undeclared usage of AI in the courtroom.
She emphasised that all legal practitioners, whether judges or counsel, should disclose their usage of AI in court to uphold integrity.
'I think it's particularly serious for judges, because if any sort of cut and paste happened, it would be a disciplinary issue. It's about ethics,' she said.
Nallini said the same would naturally also apply to lawyers who 'already owe a huge duty of disclosure'.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation recently conducted a survey showing approximately 26% of lawyers acknowledge actively using generative AI in their work.
While High Court Justice Atan Mustaffa Yussof Ahmad acknowledged lawyers may use whatever tools at their disposal, he highlighted their professional responsibility to apply their minds to the questions before them.
'AI may assist but your ethical duties cannot be outsourced to an algorithm. Be mindful of the specific risks that AI tools present,' he said.
He said these risks include AI hallucinations, where falsehoods are presented as fact, and client confidentiality.
'Your ultimate professional responsibility is to focus on developing uniquely human skills, that is, empathy, ethical judgment, creative problem solving and strategic thinking.
'You bear full responsibility for the content and advice rendered to your client,' he said.
