California court system adopts rule on AI use

By Karen Sloan

July 18 (Reuters) - California on Friday became the largest U.S. state court system to embrace policies governing the use of generative artificial intelligence by judges and court employees.

California courts that do not ban generative AI outright must develop AI-related regulations by September 1 under a rule adopted by the California Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the state’s court system.

The rule was developed by an artificial intelligence task force established by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero in 2024. Courts that allow generative AI in court-related work may adopt a model AI policy already released by the task force in February or modify it to address their specific goals by September.

The rule “strikes the best balance between uniformity and flexibility,” task force chair and state appellate judge Brad Hill told the council on Friday.

Each court’s AI policy must address the “confidentiality, privacy, bias, safety, and security risks posed by generative AI systems," according to the task force’s report on the proposal. The policies must also address the “supervision, accountability, transparency, and compliance when using those systems.”

The court policies must prohibit entering confidential information into public generative AI systems, prohibit unlawful discrimination through AI programs, and require court staff and judicial officers to “take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of the material.”

Staff and judicial officers would also have to disclose their use of AI if the final version of any written, visual, or audio work provided to the public was generated entirely by AI.

Hill said the task force did not want a rule that specified how courts can and cannot use generative AI because the technology is evolving quickly.

California has the nation’s largest state court system with five million cases, 65 courts, and approximately 1,800 judges.

A number of other state have already adopted generative AI rules or policies, including Illinois, Delaware, and Arizona. New York, Georgia, and Connecticut are among the states currently assessing the use of generative AI within their courts.

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