Nilay Patel

And as of right now, the AI Arbitrator officially has one case on its docket.

Now, I'm obviously fascinated at how all of this might work, but you'll hear Bridget and I really dig in on what this kind of automation means, not just for arbitration, but also the bigger, more fundamental idea of seeking justice and whether or not our legal system feels fair.

Americans' trust in the judicial system reached a record low in 2024.

And you'll hear Bridget and I go back and forth on whether a system driven by AI can actually help people trust these kinds of systems more by making each party simply feel heard and by showing its work, something you don't often get from a human judge.

At the same time, AI systems are AI systems.

They're new.

They're brittle.

They hallucinate.

They get facts and dates wrong.

And it feels like there's a real danger in handing this kind of power over

to new and unpredictable technology.

So you'll hear Bridget and I discuss where she thinks the lines should be drawn and how she's trying to head off some of the big concerns about AI and where she sees this all going in the future.

Again, Bridget was the former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.

She was in charge of all the judges in that state.

And you'll hear her say several times that people are pretty unreliable themselves.

One note before we start, if you want a broader look at how AI and the legal system are interacting, Verge reporter Lauren Finer actually published a fantastic feature on all this last month, and I highly suggest you go read it if you're interested in learning even more.

We'll put a link in the description and in the show notes.

Okay, Bridget McCormack, the president and CEO of the American Arbitration Association and the AI arbitrator.

Here we go.

Bridget McCormack, you're the president and CEO of the American Arbitration Association.