The Supreme Court should keep abreast with the development of artificial intelligence despite the dangers it pose.

This was according to Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen saying the path moving forward is for the Philippine legal system to keep up with emerging technology while working to protect people’s rights.

At a gathering of tech experts during the Manila Tech Summit 2024 at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City on Tuesday, Leonen spoke about the need to balance the benefits of the use of AI and new technology will bring to the courts while also making sure that safeguards are in place to avoid violations of rights.

The legal profession, in particular, has not fully grasped the possibilities of artificial intelligence available to it, he said during his keynote speech.

But instead of shying away from this challenge, the only way forward is to keep abreast with these developments to come up with more definitive rules in the use of AI and similar technologies.

The only way to truly immerse the legal profession in the use of artificial intelligence…would be to test its limits while revising as we go along to keep up.

The key idea to keep in mind is the responsible use of AI and other recent innovations, as there is much to be realized in terms of their potential and drawbacks.

He noted that one of the biggest challenges in terms of regulation is addressing cybersecurity concerns.

Digitalized courts, he said, could face at least a thousand attacks from hackers a day. And while there are existing laws, such as the Data Privacy Act and Cybercrime Prevention Act, these are not enough to keep up with fast-paced developments in AI handling data, he said.

“A transformation of our own judicial system geared towards AI advancement means working together with IT professionals who know what we are up against,” said Leonen, who noted the Philippine courts’ shift to a more digitalized judicial system.

Under the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, the Philippine Supreme Court has introduced key reforms to digitalize the internal and external processes of the courts — from introducing videoconference hearings to soon requiring mandatory electronic filing of pleadings.

Another challenge to AI regulation, he said, is the issue of AI’s reliability in the face of the proliferation of forms of disinformation — like images, audio, and videos that are ― deepfakes, which are produced by AI-powered software.

He called on the legal researchers and other law practitioners to be cautious and sift through these sources of data to verify the legitimacy of outputs.