Pakistan courts use AI assistant JudgeGPT to boost case handling by 6.3%

Pakistan deployed a custom AI assistant called JudgeGPT, based on GPT-4, in trial courts to help clear huge backlogs. It covers 118 courts and 1,559 judges. In a test with three groups, judges who got AI access and special training saw the biggest boost in case handling, solving 1,848 more cases each year, a 6.3% increase over average.

In a pilot at Lahore High Court, the AI system processed 2,300 cases in one day. With little human help, it reviewed 194,000 cases from 2018 to 2023 that were suitable for automatic handling. The system cost $1,300 to deploy, and every dollar invested brings back $38 to $50. It also saved judges about 1,340 hours of work.

The study found that targeted training made judges use AI more for tasks like text improvement and summarization, not for making decisions. Trained judges adopted the tool more, used it more often, and kept using it. Writing quality didn't get worse with AI help. The paper says AI isn't a magic fix, but when built with legal materials and paired with good training, it can be a useful tool for better governance.