Browsing by Author "Kufakwababa, Collen Zvandasara"

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    Artificial intelligence tools in legal work automation: The use and perception of tools for document discovery and privilege classification processes in Southern African legal firms
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Kufakwababa, Collen Zvandasara; Tamm, Gerrit; Maarsdorp, Christiaan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The field of artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way things are done. A significant number of innovations have been notable in many fields, ranging from medicine, media, agriculture, transport among others. This thesis presents a theoretical and practical analysis on the role artificial intelligence plays in shaping legal systems. Notable innovations in the use of artificial intelligence in the legal sector have been experienced in countries such as the USA, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and China among others. These innovations seek to improve operational efficiencies of justice delivery. Artificial intelligence has been used to predict decisions of certain cases, to model and design cases in order to produce a certain outcome, elsewhere it has been used in drafting contracts or in reproducing certain outcomes in similar types of cases.This thesis therefore seeks to understand the extent to which artificial intelligence algorithms are currently being utilized in the field of the law. It further seeks to map and define existing tools, the nature of their operations and how they are being employed. To this end, a selection of artificial intelligence platforms that are available to the legal profession have been considered in this study. These include platforms such as Rave Law, Deligence, Lexis Nexis, Ross Intelligence, Do Not Pay, Aletras and Lex Machina. Lastly, this thesis has sought to discover the extent to which such platforms are used in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and whether there is already any understanding and appreciation of their benefits.The thesis focuses on two primary aspects of the court process in which such platforms can be of service, namely privilege classification and document discovery. These are studied within the context of the court process taking into account the stages in which they occur, so that their key elements are identified. This approach has been taken because the procedures of privilege classification and document discovery are an integral part of the generic and standard court process for such procedural steps do not exist in isolation. The thesis adopted a mixed methods approach in gathering the evidence and the results of which informed the findings. A key informant interview guide was developed, which was administered to participants, some who were involved in the designing of artificial intelligence platforms and others who worked for companies marketing such programmes. In addition to the key informant interview, a structured questionnaire also was administered to law firms to map out their understanding of the applicability of artificial intelligence in the law and to revealcurrent usage patterns. Results from the data analysed suggest that there is generally a low uptake of legal artificial intelligence tools in Zimbabwe and South Africa. However, law firms have started to adopt artificial intelligence technologies to help improve legal service delivery. Results indicate the general appreciation of artificial intelligence algorithms in improving legal service delivery among lawyers; however, these results also show evidence of fears among lawyers that artificial intelligence is going to replace human beings, there is a feeling among respondents that artificial intelligence will take away their work and that such a threat should be resisted. This thesis concludes by providing recommendations for effective utilization of artificial intelligence tools in the law. It suggests that developers should better inform prospective users to raise awareness to the potential of their systems and thus encourage their uptake.There is also need for a general training of users to ensure maximum utilization. Additionally, this thesis recommends customization of legal artificial intelligence platforms at common law jurisdiction level in order to ensure that the law, which is unique to each jurisdiction, is available in a customized format so that it may meet the requirements of each legal system at a local level.