AI, AI, Captain! Federal Court Mandates Disclosure of AI-Usage in Court Filings

In effort to promote productivity and equity, the Federal Court (the “Court”) is investigating how best to employ artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the justice system. Specifically, in its Interim Principles and Guidelines, the Court has announced a pilot project to use AI as a translator for court decisions, which would subsequently be reviewed by a human translator for accuracy.

In light of technological advancements and increasing popularity of platforms such as ChatGPT, the Court released a notice to the parties and the profession on AI usage in court proceedings. The evolving policy mandates disclosure of any AI usage in the creation and generation of documents submitted to the Court for the purpose of litigation through a signed declaration. The mandate may be satisfied by simply including a statement such as “AI was used to generate content in this document” at the outset of the document’s text.

Although Chief Justice Paul Crampton of the Federal Court cautioned against the use of AI to decide cases and render judgments presently, he left open such possibilities for the future, pending consultation with the public.