AI Can Assist Human Judges, but It Can’t Replace Them (Yet)
By David Lat, Bloomberg Law, May 7, 2025
Over the past few years, I’ve read many articles and attended numerous panels about whether artificial intelligence could replace lawyers. But what about judges—could AI replace them?
A 2013 paper by two Oxford University professors ranked more than 700 occupations based on their “probability of computerization,” with the No. 1 job being the least computerizable (recreational therapist) and the No. 702 job being the most computerizable (telemarketer). Interestingly enough, judges came in at 271, and lawyers were ranked 115—suggesting it might be easier for AI to replace judges than lawyers.
Judges themselves don’t seem too worried about losing their jobs to AI. In his 2023 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that in light of “breathless predictions about the future of Artificial Intelligence,” some observers “may wonder whether judges are about to become obsolete.” His view: “I am sure we are not.”
