Cutting edge technology is fostering social credibility development in China, a senior legal officer said Thursday in Beijing.
Zhang Wen, president of Beijing Internet Court, said at a seminar during the 2019 Forum on China Intellectual Property Protection that new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are used to make legal rulings and have shown impressive results.
"Of the 41 cases concluded so far, parties chose to settle out of court rather than litigate in 40 cases with compelling evidence from blockchain. This fosters social credibility development in the country," Zhang told the Global Times on Thursday.
Zhang noted the court had used blockchain technology in 58 cases to collect and provide evidence.
The Beijing Internet Court is the second of its kind in China and part of the country's efforts to address internet-related disputes via an online court. Such disputes are often large in number and small in compensation, and the parties are usually in different locations and time zones. Internet courts also reduce litigation costs.
AI is used for court cases to improve efficiency and enhance accurate legal rulings, Zhang said.
"In the current use of AI as an assistant to make rulings, efficiency is prioritized over accuracy. A human judge is ultimately responsible for the fair ruling," Zhang said.
"But we are heading toward a future when we can see an AI judge sitting at the podium," Zhang said.
Since it was first established in September 2018, the Beijing Internet Court has processed 14,904 cases.
