While computers have long been a fixture in the legal profession, they have mainly been relegated to back
office tasks, such as billing, word processing, and other basic administrative duties. As Artificial Intelligence
(AI) technology develops, the creation of computers that can autonomously reason with the law to
determine legal solutions is slowly becoming a reality. Expert systems will one day be able to predict the outcome of litigation with a good degree of accuracy. An important attribute of expert systems is their ability to explain why a particular analysis or recommendation was produced. The process usually involves the assignation of numerical "weights" in relation to case facts. These facts are then computationally compared to similar cases in the expert system's knowledge base and an outcome based on the assigned values/similarities is then generated. Therefore, the possibility exists that AI will result in expert systems that could help judges produce an acceptable level of fairness without resorting to a strict model of fixed sentencing. The expert system would be normative rather than predictive, providing guidance based on complex modeling that considers the attributes of the crime, mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and the individual characteristics of the defendant.
At present, expert systems of this complexity are not in widespread use. Some simple software is available that provides legal professionals with the ability to draft complex legal documents. The software works on rule based principles, which guide the lawyer through a question-and-answer session until the document is complete. These software programs typically support each question with expert legal and strategic analysis, practice tips and model language.
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