Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Dispute Resolution: The Age of AI-DR

Abstract

This chapter addresses the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for the field of dispute resolution. In recent decades, digital technology has re-shaped alternative dispute resolution into online dispute resolution (ODR). In the last few years, ODR has spread to courts, further blurring boundaries between formal and informal dispute resolution, as well as between online and offline avenues of redress. More recently, AI has begun to infiltrate dispute resolution, mostly in the realm of AI-based prediction. With the maturing of ODR and the spread of AI, we can expect the overlap between the two to further evolve in both private and public dispute resolution, giving rise to a new form of dispute resolution, AI-DR. AI is increasingly being employed in a variety of legal and ADR settings and its role can be expected to grow further in the near future. The questions that remain open are the design choices that will be made with respect to AI and the means that will be employed to maximize its contribution and curb the challenges associated with AI-based decisions, recommendations, and predictions. Dispute resolution processes need not only to be efficient but to be fair, trustworthy, and accountable and must be perceived as such if they are to sustain their legitimacy and fulfill their societal role. In the sections that follow, we describe the relevance and current use of AI in dispute resolution, while drawing on particular examples to illustrate the promise and limitations of such use, which can be expected to expand dramatically in the next decade.