The plan for AI paralegals in England and Wales “cannot replace funding and staff”, lawyers say

A plan to introduce artificial intelligence virtual paralegals into crown courts has prompted warnings that the technology should not be used to “replace vital funding and additional court staff”.

David Lammy, the deputy prime minister, will announce on Tuesday that AI assistants will be put on trial in a bid to reduce the backlog of court cases in England and Wales.

Judges are already planning to use a new AI tool to identify cases ready for trial and consolidate similar hearings, the Justice Department said.

However, the Law Society, which represents more than 200,000 lawyers, has said the technology should not be used to reduce staff costs and the pilot needs to be “thoroughly evaluated”.

Last year, two cases were struck down by fabricated case law citations that were either clearly or suspected of being generated by AI.

Speaking at London Tech Week, Lammy will say: “Artificial intelligence has the power to forever change the way we live, work and govern…”