Ministry of Justice on Ai: Copilot to lawyers only on probation, need to know it
No obligation to adopt but the magistrate must express refusal
Key points
A kind of, singular, opt out. But also reassurances on when and how to use it, as well as the announcement of a dedicated training. The Ministry of Justice intervenes, after the controversy that accompanied the inclusion in the office package available to magistrates of Copilot, a artificial intelligence system by Microsoft, as of 1 January. A note signed by the head of the Justice Technology Innovation Department, Antonella Ciriello, provides a series of clarifications.
Cognitive purpose
First of all, it is emphasised that the initiative, regarded as a leap forward by the ministry, unexpected and without any prior preparation, has 'no impact on the decision-making aspects of the exercise of the judicial function, which remains entirely entrusted to the responsibility and autonomy of the individual magistrate, and is part of the support for the activity of the magistrate'.
The experimentation, because this is what it is about, notes the ministry, has a 'cognitive and practical purpose: to allow those who wish to do so to directly understand the functioning of generative artificial intelligence tools, assess their limits and potential, and exercise a conscious and informed choice'. And yet the ministry warns that knowledge of artificial intelligence systems is no longer "postponable", given the now widespread adoption by all other trial operators, the natural interlocutors of judges and prosecutors.
Voluntary basis
Participation by magistrates in this phase will be exclusively on a voluntary basis, but it will be up to those who do not wish to use Copilot to put this down in black and white by filling in a format: after the declaration of voluntary exclusion, Copilot will be deactivated and the previous configuration will be restored.
As for its use, this can be exclusively in the justice area, limiting interactions to content present in the ministerial ecosystem or, if the user makes a conscious choice, also with external consultation functions. In any case, it remains at the full disposal of the magistrate to decide whether, how and when to use the tool. Moreover, the ministerial note recalls, the security standards, data segregation and full compliance with current legislation on the protection of personal data are ensured.
