AI in Courts Task Force

Summary#

This bill creates the "AI Research and Oversight in Courts Task Force" within the National Institute of Justice. The task force must study the use of AI speech-to-text technology and automatic speech recognition technology in state and federal courts. It will assess accuracy, privacy, civil liberties, cybersecurity, cost effects, data integrity, metadata, and other risks. The task force will have 15 members (a mix of federal employees and outside experts), must report status every 4 months, and must deliver a final report to the Attorney General and congressional judiciary committees within 18 months. The task force ends when it files its final report. The bill also defines the technologies covered and includes rules about member selection, conflicts of interest, and travel reimbursements.

What it means for you#

  • No immediate change to how courts operate. The task force is for study and recommendations only.
  • The task force will examine whether AI-created or AI-modified court transcripts affect accuracy, people with accents or speech differences, court costs, and record integrity.
  • The task force may recommend whether records created or changed by these tools should carry a watermark or metadata identifying the tool and version used.
  • The task force will propose guidance for selecting vendors and consider cybersecurity and preservation of evidence.
  • Members include federal employees and outside experts; outside members may not work for or represent AI technology vendors.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on total funding or appropriations for the task force. The bill states members will serve without additional compensation and that members may receive travel expenses and per diem at rates authorized for federal employees.

Proponents' View#

The bill's stated purpose is to give Congress an analysis of issues and benefits of AI speech-to-text and automatic speech recognition in the courts and to produce recommendations so that use of these technologies does not infringe constitutional rights, including the right to an accurate official court record.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.