The Supreme Court has launched an artificial intelligence-enabled portal that would help its judges in legal research. The SUPACE — short for Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency — was inaugurated by Chief Justice SA Bobde on Tuesday. The event was inaugurated virtually, with judges from several high courts in attendance. Justice L Nageswara Rao, chair of the Supreme Court's Artificial Intelligence Committee, said that while AI was unlikely to ever make human lawyers or judges redundant, it still has the potential to be a "tremendous asset" in the justice system. He said the system would assist judges, court staff and litigants in addressing bottlenecks in the judicial system and mitigate delays. He added that AI could be used in the areas of language translation, automation of administrative tasks and legal research. "We have already been successful in our attempt to translate documents and judgement into 11 languages," he said. Chief Justice Bobde, in his address, said that the Supreme Court was embarking on an "exceptional journey" by embracing AI in its routine work. AI, for most people, means automated decision making. This has given rise to serious objections, and I join in these objections, he said. "Because, it is our view and it is also consistent with the sense of independence of each human mind, of each judge, that the decision must be left to him. A machine ought not to dictate it. It is in this sense, that the system we have launched today is unique…
