Artificial Intelligence Its Role in the Nigerian Legal System

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Nigerian Legal System

Introduction

The world is undergoing major changes due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a critical driver of the major changes. AI has introduced the innovative adoption of deep learning and machine learning algorithms that have affected several industries. AI has been of major significance in the legal sector and has been considered a tool that may ease lawyers' bulk work. However, in Nigeria, the idea of AI has not been fully accepted in the legal industry. Nigerian's conservative nature has been a deterring factor to innovation. AI has been perceived as an innovation that contributes to unemployment and destabilizes the status quo. This paper aims at offering a pragmatic and legal perspective of AI in Nigeria. The focus will be on identifying the place of Artificial Intelligence (AI)) in the Nigerian Legal System and the potential effects on the adjudicative process.

Definition of AI

AI was first defined in 1956 by John McCarthy as "the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs" (McCarthy, 2007). 

Marvin Lee Minsky, one of the founders of AI, defines it as "the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men. It requires high-level mental processes such as perceptual learning, memory and critical thinking." (Villani, Bonnet & Rondepierre, 2018).

Data Robot CEO Jeremy Achin, at the Japan AI Experience in 2017, defined AI as "a computer system able to perform tasks that ordinarily require human intelligence. These artificial intelligence systems are powered by machine learning "(Achin, 2020).

Literature Review 

This paper identifies the role of AI in Nigeria's legal system. However, it is necessary to consider the opinions of learned scholars who have commented on the topic to avoid regurgitation of knowledge and appreciate their contribution to this study field. Most scholars believe that the legal profession cannot avoid AI technology; hence individuals and institutions must find a way to use the technology to their advantage.

Ademola Adeyoju explores the readiness of lawyers concerning AI, the potential effects of AI in legal practice in Africa, and suggests practical recommendations for the profession. He points out the various ways AI-lawyers have performed legal tasks. The writer uses the example of Case Cruncher that was effectively used to predict the outcome of cases. Case Cruncher proved to be more accurate compared to the lawyers themselves. Also, he cites that AI technologies have also been used in legal sectors to predict the judge's attitude, predict the moves by opposing counsel, predict the outcome of a case, and assist a judge in predicting the effectiveness of litigators (Adeyoju, 2018).

Simon, Lindsay, Sosa, and Comparato give recommendations on how a lawyer in the future should deal with AI. They believe that lawyers should acquire legal and technology skills to be competent for legal jobs. They propose how law schools should offer legal education. Although the article focuses on law schools in America, the ideas may apply to Nigeria's law institutions. They cite several law schools that have successfully incorporated technology courses ranging from the basics to applied technology. They further state that Lawyers should have an open mindset to enable the successful application of AI technology to their advantage instead of opposing it (Simon, Lindsay, Sosa, & Comparato, 2018).

AI tools in Nigeria

TIMI is Nigeria's First Artificial Intelligence Legal Assistant developed to aid lawyers with legal research, legal opinions, litigation, and legal drafting. An individual can converse with TIMI about Civil Procedure and Litigation Rules, what is expected of an individual, within what time frame, consequences of not following Civil Procedure Rules, and remedies for the aggrieved party (Vanguard News, 2018)

The other artificial intelligence-based software applied in Nigeria is Judy Technologies. This legal tech startup was developed in 2018 by Bright Oleka, Sadiq Okocha, and Charles Thompson in Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Accra, Ghana. Judy is used to managing, recording, analyzing, and providing legal information in a handy way for lawyers and legal researchers. The software is designed to understand requests made in the natural language used when speaking and give sufficient feedback. The software has been convenient for many, providing quality and globally-accessible legal information (Ajayi, 2020).

Other recommended AI tools 

I would recommend Automation in criminal courts to help Courts assess the probability of recidivism and probability of flight for offenders awaiting trial, awaiting bail, or in parole. This tool will help predict the defendant's behavior even before trial and help set ail amounts. The AI computer system can predict whether a suspect is a flight risk or capable of re-offending. This tool gives accurate judgment compared to a judge.

Automation in prison is also a tool that can help in the post-conviction stage. In, prison AI will be of significance as it can recognize and track all prisoners and alert guards of anything wrong.AI can also be used for rehabilitation to track prisoner's behavior. These systems help ascertain the criminogenic needs of offenders, which can be altered through treatment and intervention.

Is AI a threat or an opportunity?

AI is a better performer as compared to a lawyer. The technology is smart and fast; thus, it does threaten certain aspects of legal practice. However, the introduction of AI does not mean the demise of legal practice. This is due to two reasons; the first one is the black box issue; the second is the nature of AI. Although the AI is smart and fast, programmers have not figured out how the AI arrives at a certain output. Hence the process in the black box remains a mystery. Therefore, AI cannot be fully effective without supervision (Ajayi, 2020).

Another reason why AI is not a threat is because of its nature. AI is a tool that can help clients with specific tasks, but only lawyers can interpret what the words used mean and match the client's objectives to attain a certain goal. Only lawyers can analyze the case and ensure the client understands the process (Ajayi, 2020).

Impacts of AI Vs. the traditional role of lawyers

AI enables one to go through many records of documents and produce results relevant to the search at a cheap cost and quickly. The AI is much more accurate in legal research than a lawyer. The software enables clients to have legal knowledge without having to ask a lawyer. However, there is an issue of liability when the AI fails, is incompetent, breaches confidentiality, and lacks communication (Igbozurike, 2020).

Traditional lawyers will provide services that cannot be provided by AI right now. Those roles include judgment, empathy, creativity, and adaptability. In other words, lawyers provide the last solution after AI, which involves applying human functions to the output of the AI tools. A lawyer will be tasked with judging the situation to give the client appropriate advice, using the lawyer's understanding of the client's desires (Davis, 2020).

Effect of Covid-19 on Law and legal system

The rising numbers of coronavirus infections led to the shutdown of courts under the directive of Nigeria's Chief Justice. Hence, litigants were unable to practice litigation to ensure justice prevails. Secondly, the lawyers who depended on on-court practice for their incomes were affected financially as the courts were closed. Lastly, the situation exposed the legal system's weaknesses, such as poor technology applied in legal proceedings. The courts lacked reliable digitized systems resulting in delays in the court cases. (Adamolekun, 2020).

Gaps in the Nigerian legal system and how AI can bridge the gaps

Nigerian laws are not favorable to growing smart technology. Nigeria is a third world country that is conservative and has little appreciation for technology. There is a lack of proper laws to guard individuals who apply smart technology. Infringement and violation of privacy are not taken seriously. The legislation in place is not suitable to tackle issues with smart technology. Laws can be amended according to modern trends to solve these issues. The AI will be of significance in the legal system, as it will bring surety and accuracy legal research is conducted, and the cases are determined promptly (Igbozurike, 2020).