SINGAPORE - Imagine you bought a defective washing machine for $2,000 from an online shopping platform, and want to file a claim against the supplier at the Small Claims Tribunals.

In about two years’ time, an artificial intelligence (AI) program will be able to advise you on your rights, guide you through the processes to undertake and even estimate how much you may be able to claim.

The Small Claims Tribunals see about 10,000 cases a year, and currently, the applications are filed online through the Community Justice and Tribunals System.

The Singapore Courts signed a two-year memorandum of understanding with American legal AI start-up Harvey in August to develop a generative AI program for users of the Small Claims Tribunals, Justice Aedit Abdullah said at a media briefing at the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Generative AI refers to deep learning algorithms, such as ChatGPT, that can generate high-quality text, images and other content based on the data they were trained on.

This is part of the Singapore Courts’ efforts to ensure access to justice – by providing readily available information and designing processes that are manageable for the layman.

Lawyers are not allowed to represent parties in small claims consultations or hearings, but information on the small claims process is available on the Singapore Courts website.

“We can envisage that there might be members of the public who may not be able to navigate the Web materials because they don’t understand the work of the Small Claims Tribunals very well, or they have specific questions that they just can’t find the answer to.

“We hope with this, we can at least give (users) an overview of the process,” said Justice Abdullah.

The AI program will go one step further in helping users file their claims properly by autofilling forms with the information given, or pointing out areas where information is lacking.

Using the example of the malfunctioning washing machine, Justice Abdullah explained: “We want the program to ideally be able to say, if you want to proceed with the claim, it is important for you to have your receipt, some evidence of what went wrong, and evidence that (the defect) was not because of what you did.”

The High Court judge added that defendants should be able to share their side of the story as well.

It is hoped that the AI program will then be able to advise what the possible outcome and claim amount could be, and prompt the parties to reach a settlement or consider mediation.

The AI model will be trained on redacted case files and judgments released by the tribunals or magistrates.

“One of the things we will be really concerned about... (is) to ensure that there is no false information generated by the system. On top of that, we want to make sure that adequate protection is given to the information that might be uploaded or provided to the system,” said Justice Abdullah.

He added that to ensure that those who are not tech-savvy will be able to tap the new program, the courts could explore having volunteers to guide them when the project is rolled out.

If the project succeeds, the AI model could be rolled out to other areas like civil claims and divorce maintenance.

The judge also touched on concerns that the advent of generative AI would impact the jobs of lawyers as it could take over tasks such as legal research.

He added that in the near future, lawyers would have to be equipped with a broader range of skill sets like technological know-how.

“A lot of work could potentially be migrated out of the hands of lawyers and judges. Drudge work may be taken out, but that drudge work is often the work that helps to train people.

“So that means we’ve got to think of ways in which we can supplement the gap through other forms of training like simulations,” said Justice Abdullah.

“We cannot stop change. We have a primary duty to the users of the court system and the public at large to make sure our processes are as seamless and painless as possible.

“If we have to change to accommodate a new environment with people wanting an easier time going through the court system, we have to facilitate that,” he added.