APRAG Conferences 2020 – Session1: AI In International Arbitration

Session 1 : AI In International Arbitration

          EBREM (Electronic Business related arbitration mediation)

          The definition of Artificial Intelligence (AI)  is the ability of a computer program or machine to think and learn. It is also a field of study which try to make computers “smart”. (Wikipedia)

• You need a massive data to make a decision.

Thirty years ago, there was a news which broadcasted about the invention of AI in interviewing people for applying a job. If you smile a lot, AI will give you a point, and the employer will employ you easier. AI, according to that program, electrometrically separate your face into 4 sections.

There’s a difference between AI and Online Platform, AI is all about thinking and making decisions but online platform is to make our lives much more comfortable and easier ex. E-filing, E- platform, E-discovery. E- storing etc.

Ex. E-Discovery is quite expensive, it is the efficient mechanism to relieve the jobs of lawyer but it does not take over all of the lawyer’s job.

As the lawyer practitioner of the case, when your clients intend to proceed the case, apart from providing the facts of the case they might ask the lawyer for the quotation and estimate the cost of arbitration proceeding.

How does AI impacts Arbitration and mediation rules?

AI is able to appoint mediators and proceed the challenge of mediators (if they have sufficient data/information) but the speaker personally think that the disputes can not be settled by AI mediators (we have not reached that point yet)

For arbitration, the appointment of arbitrator can be involved by AI as well if there are sufficient information. In hearing process, can not be proceeded by AI.

(2) Overview

Tools : email (with digital signature), video conferencing, Cloud services for research, smart data basis (because they use AI for the better result), E-discovery etc.

The development of AI : We have had the computers since the 40s and we already called them as artificial intelligence but what came later was machine learning and now there’s a new revolution for inventing the system that made deep learning really work.

The start of computing is conditioning statement, if the search are fulfilled or the conditions are fulfilled then a search consequence would appear.

At present, AI is playing an important role in supporting the legal works. For instance, doing a legal research from the database, reviewing the documents, researching the information from the internet (for example: the court judgement, the contracts which have been made, the clauses which stated in the contract etc.)

The speaker personally thinks that, the contracts and arbitration clauses would be possibly drafted by AI in the near future.

The possibilities to win the cases might be predicted by AI which are the useful information for the clients to make a decision if they want to proceed the case or not, and useful for third party funder to consider if they would like to provide the financial support to those parties or not?

AI also has limitations, in order to evaluate the results clearly, AI need a massive amount of data. At present, AI can not work efficiently due to the lack of massive related data (for example, the international arbitration cases, governing law and the legal opinion (which can be changed from time to time)), Black box, AI can not provide the reason to make its decision etc.

AI in Thailand

          Thailand was ranked as no.56 for the AI readiness of AI in 2019. Thailand was ranked as no.1 in using the mobile phone (from the survey of PWC). Among the Thai population (almost 69 million people) , there are 57 million user accounts in 2018 and Thai people spend the longest duration of time to contact the others via online platform, with the average of 9 Hours 378 minutes per day.

For the government sector, in the past few years, there have been the development of technologies in Thailand. For example, the establishment of Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the establishment of Digital Government Development Agency, the enactment of data protection and privacy law etc.

The use of AI in Arbitration proceedings in Thailand, the speaker personally thinks that there are possibilities to use AI for doing a legal research, evaluating the successful rate of the cases (by comparing the case which have the similar factual background), comparing the precedent of the decisions, drafting the various kinds of legal contracts etc. But AI can not act as an arbitrators in the case.