Understanding your court's AI readiness
"AI Readiness for the State Courts" is a set of resources to help state courts prepare for an increasingly AI-integrated world and successfully integrate AI into their operations. It provides leaders with a comprehensive framework for assessing the current state of AI readiness in the court, and taking concrete steps to improve AI readiness.
Who should read this?
This guide can be used at the state or territory level or at a more local court level (e.g., district, county, courthouse). It is designed for state court personnel who have some kind of role in court leadership or in AI decision making.
Why this guide matters
As AI technologies advance, they have the potential to integrate into a wide variety of tasks involved in case processing and caseflow management, in interfacing with court users and helping them navigate court systems, and in substantive legal decision-making that shapes case outcomes. If AI is implemented thoughtfully and with care, these technologies could improve access to the courts, promote fair and equitable justice outcomes, improve the work experience for court personnel, increase efficiency in case processing, and promote public trust and confidence in the courts.
In this overview, you'll find summaries of topics covered in "AI Readiness for the State Courts." The full guide provides additional explanation and includes interactive tools.
What is AI readiness?
AI readiness means that courts have the capacity, processes, systems, and policies in place to use AI effectively across the entire AI lifecycle, which includes:
- Identifying a workflow need and a potential AI solution.
- Designing, developing, and testing the AI technology.
- Implementing and evaluating the AI technology.
- Monitoring, maintaining, and updating the AI technology.
- Implementing post-project feedback.
Court AI maturity
Level 1: Building foundations
Courts that are just beginning to consider AI
Level 2: Implementation
Courts that have identified a specific AI project to implement.
Level 3: Post-project feedback
Courts that have already completed at least one successful AI implementation.
Key terms
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Guidance for implementing AI in courts
Building AI foundations
Understand considerations for courts that are just beginning to think about AI and discover how to get started by building foundations.
Principles & practices for AI use in courts
The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) provides various resources and guides for court management, ranging from implementing AI and cybersecurity basics to improving civil justice accessibility and expediting family cases through the use of triage tools.