In an era of rapid technological transformation, the judicial system is at a critical crossroads, facing challenges that demand adaptive and comprehensive responses. The recent Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Conference of the International Association of Women Judges, held in Mexico City on October 24th and 25th, 2024, was a space for judicial leaders to discuss current issues of the digital age and their implications for the world of law. It also addressed timely issues like violence against women judges in Haiti and judicial independence. The intersection of technology, justice, and human rights is complex and pressing. Technological advancement has improved access to information and administrative efficiency in the legal field. However, it has also created a landscape where sophisticated cyber threats exploit systemic vulnerabilities in the legal, technological, and social systems, undermining individual privacy, legal protections, and societal fairness.
Artificial Intelligence in the Judiciary
Emerging technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), has been embraced by judicial systems worldwide. As shared in the conference during the presentation: “Application of artificial intelligence in the administration of justice, advantages and disadvantages,” countries like the U.S., Argentina, China, Brazil, and Estonia have integrated AI into their judicial systems to automate document analysis, support judges in repetitive tasks, and manage administrative proceedings. Programs like Sor Juana in Mexico were shared during the conference, highlighting positive efforts to use AI to democratize access to legal information. The Sor Juana program uses clear, accessible language instead of complex legal terminology to make court decisions understandable to the public. AI’s democratization of knowledge, enhanced efficiency, and analytical capabilities are valuable contributions to judicial systems, but such tools should not be embraced without caution.
Integrating AI in the legal sphere poses serious ethical challenges. Lawmakers, legal professionals, and the public need to be critical of the model biases inherent in these programs, as they can reinforce discrimination and existing social inequalities. As stated during the conference, technological systems like AI programs are tools meant to complement, not replace, nuanced human judgment and should be adopted appropriately.
The Emergence of Digital Crime
While technological innovation has made useful strides in the legal world, it has also changed the nature of criminal exploitation, making it more complicated to prevent, trace, and bring to justice. What were once more isolated incidents of cyberbullying, sexual abuse, and child trafficking have evolved into complex, transnational criminal networks that leverage digital platforms, as shared by Judge Natalia Marcela Molina of Argentina. For instance, prior to the digital age, sexual predators exploiting children would have to encounter children physically. Now, they can target children without even leaving their homes, from anywhere in the world. Grooming using social networks has become more common, allowing predators to access children, gain their trust, and convince them to send explicit content, which they can then upload to established pedophile networks. According to the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), online grooming has increased dramatically from 2021 to 2023. These digital platforms have become not only the avenue to access victims but also places where sexual abuse of those victims is published and created. In 2023, the ICMEC encountered 4,700 cases related to AI, where children’s photos from social events were uploaded and used to create AI sexual abuse material.
Similarly, technological advancement has also given way to digital gender-based violence. This includes non-consensual sharing of content, digital intimidation, and technology-facilitated abuse, as discussed during the workshop: “Digitial gender violence.”
As new channels of abuse emerge, explicitly targeting vulnerable groups like children, it is essential that lawmakers and the justice system evolve and leverage technological innovation to combat new crimes and that the public is educated on new risks.
Collaborative Solutions
Confronting these new, complex crimes and the grey area created by technological advancements requires an organized and collaborative effort that goes beyond borders. International cooperation is essential in establishing regulatory approaches and networks to prevent digital exploitation and abuse.
As shared by Dr. Ana María Soledad Cruz Vasconcelos, Retired Magistrate of the Court of Administrative Justice of the State of Oaxaca, a comprehensive ethical framework for AI in the judicial field is necessary. The European Union and UNESCO have already emerged with risk stratification models and ethical guidelines for technological intervention in legal systems, showing that the legal system is not haphazardly integrating AI. Ongoing global discourse to develop a comprehensive ethical framework for AI in the judicial field, such as in this regional conference, is essential to ensure AI is integrated responsibly and fairly.
Additionally, regarding the emergence of crimes like the sexual abuse of children and digital gender violence, communication and collaboration between organizations, authorities, and the private sector is essential now more than ever. Organizations like the ICMEC and INTERPOL and initiatives like Take It Down are working globally to address the publication of child sexual abuse through proactive content removal, international information sharing, victim support, and collaborative law enforcement efforts. Members of the private sector, like META and TikTok, have also developed policies and collaborations aimed at protecting users, especially minors, and have collaborated with local organizations and law enforcement to address abuse and ensure compliance with legal standards.
Emphasized throughout the two-day conference, collaborative efforts, discourse, and education on these complex emerging digital challenges are the only effective way to address them. As technology continues to reshape our world with unprecedented speed and complexity, the judiciary must remain adaptive and committed to human dignity and justice.