AI arbitration used for dispute in Guangzhou

An artificial intelligence arbitration assistant, thought to be the first of its kind in the world, has resolved it first case — a dispute between two domestic private companies.

"Today's hearing has come to an end. I am currently analyzing the trial data and the ruling opinion will be sent to the arbitration tribunal via email in 5 minutes," said Zhong Xiaowen, the AI assistant, after hearing the dispute.

Created by the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission, the assistant can improve the efficiency of resolving disputes by nearly four times by completing procedural tasks including intelligent acceptance of cases, multilingual realtime translation, blockchain recognition of evidence and inputting viewpoints and statements, according to the commission.

"The AI assistant can provide pre-court information guidance for identity recognition, written records during the trial processes and similar cases," said Weng Jian, an arbitrator from the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission.

The assistant was one of several innovations on show during the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Legal Forum, held in Nansha district of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on Wednesday.

The forum, focusing on legal guarantees for the integrated development of the GBA, attracted nearly 300 domestic and overseas legal experts for in-depth exchanges.

With the help of AI assistance, arbitrators will be able to break free from tedious affairs and devote more attention to improving the quality of making rulings, according to Liu Tao, vice-president of the Guangdong Lawyers Association.

"Using the AI assistant can greatly improve arbitration efficiency, ensure procedural fairness and highlight the role of arbitrators as the main body during arbitration," said Liu.

There have been an increasing number of foreign-related arbitration cases in recent years requiring the identification of extraterritorial laws and cases, according to Liu.

The Guangzhou Arbitration Commission resolved disputes involving 63.9 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) last year, according to the commission.

"Hearings with the AI assistant allow us to meet the needs of handling more foreign-related arbitration cases," said Liu.

Advanced technologies such as AI have been widely promoted in the legal sector across Guangdong in recent years. Prior to the unveiling of the AI arbitration assistant, the Guangzhou Arbitration Commission launched an intelligent service robot, which can assist in case filing and consultation.

The intelligent robot has completed more than 14,000 consultations and nearly 300 case filings, according to the commission.

In another development, Longan (Guangzhou) Law Firm opened an AI law research and development center in Guangzhou on Thursday, the first of its kind in the GBA.

"The establishment of the center aims to facilitate applications of AI technologies in the forefront of legal practice," said Chen Huan, director of the center.