Legal Services and Digital Infrastructures: A New Compass for Better Governance

This book seeks to provide and promote a better understanding and a more responsive and inclusive governance of the automation and digital devices in public institutions, particularly the law and justice sector.

Concerns related to AI design and use have been exacerbated recently with the recognition of the discriminatory potential that can be embedded into AI applications in public service institutions. This book examines issues relating to the assigning of responsibility in a public service produced and delivered on the basis of an automated mechanism. It encourages critical thinking about the legal services and the justice institutions as they are transformed by AI and automation. It raises awareness as to the prospect of transformation we face in terms of responsibility and of agency and the need to design a citizen-centered and human rights compliant system of technology assessment and AI monitoring and evaluation. The book calls for a comprehensive strategy to enable professional practitioners and decision makers to engage in the design of AI driven legal and justice services. The work draws on on-going research and consulting activities carried out by the author across different countries and different systems in the legal and justice sector.

The book offers a critical approach to encourage a new mindset among legal professionals and the justice institutions thus empowering and training them to develop the necessary responsiveness and accountability in the justice sector and legal systems. It will also be of interest to researchers and academics working in the area of AI, Public Law, Human Rights and Criminal Justice.

本書旨在提供和促進對公共機構中自動化和數字設備的更好理解，以及更具回應性和包容性的治理，尤其是法律和司法部門。

近年來，與AI設計和使用相關的擔憂因公共服務機構中嵌入的歧視潛力而加劇。本書探討了在基於自動化機制生產和提供的公共服務中分配責任的問題。它鼓勵對法律服務和司法機構進行批判性思考，因為它們正在被AI和自動化所改變。它提高了人們對責任和代理的轉變前景以及設計以公民為中心且符合人權的技術評估和AI監測與評估系統的需求的意識。本書呼籲制定一項全面策略，使專業從業人員和決策者能夠參與設計以AI為驅動的法律和司法服務。本書依據作者在不同國家和不同法律和司法部門系統中進行的持續研究和咨詢活動。

本書提供了一種批判性的方法，以鼓勵法律專業人士和司法機構培養新的思維方式，從而使他們在司法部門和法律體系中具備必要的回應能力和問責制。對於從事AI、公法、人權和刑事司法領域的研究人員和學者也具有興趣。

Daniela Piana is Professor of Political Science at the University of Bologna, Italy, and Associate Fellow at the Institut des Hautes Etudes sur la Justice in Paris, France.

Daniela Piana是義大利博洛尼亞大學政治學教授，也是法國巴黎高等司法研究所的副研究員。