Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero launched a task force this summer to evaluate a technology poised to impact nearly every part of our lives, including California courts—generative artificial intelligence (AI).

“Generative AI brings great promise, but our guiding principle should be safeguarding the integrity of the judicial process,” Chief Justice Guerrero said. “That means it will be essential for the branch to assess what protections are necessary as we begin to use this technology.”

We spoke with Gary Marchant, Regents Professor at the Arizona State University College of Law, about how courts might use generative AI to their benefit; the challenges of AI, and steps the Judicial Council might take to study, use, and develop guidance regarding this technology.

"We'll look back 10 years from now and see this as a transformative time period in our history for the courts, for society, for every industry generally," Marchant said. "How we handle this transition is going to be a big challenge—it's something that has to be done carefully but with some optimism that this could really make things better."

Watch his full interview with the California Courts Newsroom below: