Machines in the Courtroom: AI, Judicial Discretion and the Future of Justice

Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape legal research, translation, triage and sentencing support. The attraction is obvious: overloaded courts, rising costs and litigants who struggle to navigate procedure. Yet justice is not merely an information problem. It depends on reason-giving, contestability, equality before the law and the visible exercise of human judgement. The question is not whether digital tools belong in courts, but which functions can be delegated without hollowing out judicial independence and open justice.