When AI Comes to the Table: A Taste of the Future for Dispute Resolution
Artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived – and it’s not just here to win at chess, write mediocre love poems, or suggest the perfect Spotify playlist. It’s pulling up a chair at the dispute resolution table.
In When AI Comes to the Table: How Tech Tools Will Change ADR, I explore the growing wave of AI-powered tools designed to support every stage of dispute resolution, from prevention through process design, party support, and deciding outcomes.
The core message? Some AI-DR tools are here now, and more are on the way.
The article outlines seven categories of AI tools. Some aim to prevent disputes, others help practitioners prepare more thoughtfully, and others aspire to mediate or arbitrate themselves. There are client-facing tools, education tools, integrated platforms, and analytics dashboards.
Well-designed tools should enhance, not replace, human judgment. They should disclose their frameworks, explain their functions, and invite users to think critically. Poorly designed tools hide their biases and may present their outputs as neutral or authoritative.
Every AI tool reflects human assumptions about what counts as a worthwhile goal, a fair process, or a good result. For example, some tools might:
- Guide users toward particular ways of framing issues
- Emphasize mutual gains and/or partisan advantage
- Focus on court outcomes and/or parties’ intangible goals
- Set early resolution as the default
- Assume lengthy adversarial battles
- Reinforce existing inequalities
The impact of AI tools depends not just on how they’re built, but also on how they’re used. To minimize harm, users must learn to use these tools with care.
The next wave of dispute resolution AI will be shaped by theorists, designers, practitioners, and user communities. Oversight and accountability will be essential as AI becomes more integrated into courts, legal education, and organizations. Independent evaluations should assess what these tools do, whom they serve, and whom they leave out.
Dispute resolution is, at heart, a human craft. AI can help if we are intentional and clear about the values we build into our tools.
Take a look.
