J20 Summit: AI discussions spark questions on use of AI in African courts

JOHANNESBURG - Discussions on artificial intelligence (AI) at a summit for global jurists have sparked questions on the use of AI in African courts.

Heads of constitutional and supreme courts of G20 countries have gathered at the J20 Summit in Sandton on Wednesday.

The gathering precedes the G20 Summit, which will be held in the country in November.

READ: Talks on use of AI in the judiciary take centre stage at J20 Summit

All the jurists on a panel comprised of representatives from Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa agreed that AI could not be ignored by global courts, but still has risks and concerns around its use responsibly.

But in his presentation, Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo steered the conversation towards the use of AI in the African context, giving the example of land claims.

"The court she wants to approach to register this land claim has adopted an AI system to register and allocate cases. That system has been trained only in the Western environment and context and to deal with urban disputes in English. What will happen to her case?"

Mlambo said that African realities must shape African AI.

"We should be cautious not to simply source AI products from the West; they are not designed for our context."

Mlambo said AI would not be replacing judicial work like the penning of judgments, but would be used as an administrative tool by addressing backlogs and improving case management.