AI and Predictive Justice, the vision of Fabien Gondouin
Since May 2018, Fabien GONDOUIN has been Deputy General Counsel of Milleis Banque. He represents Milleis within the professional associations of the financial sector. He is also vice-chairman of the OCBF's compliance commission. Previously, he worked for 15 years in other legal departments of banks and insurance companies.
Describe your function and your problems
In collaboration with the entire Legal Department team, I participate in securing the legal life of the company. As true "business partners", we support all the business lines in numerous legal disciplines (banking law, insurance law, financial law, consumer law, contract law, etc.) with a constant concern to protect both the interests of the bank and those of our clients.
Our main challenges are twofold. Firstly, to meet the needs of our clients as quickly as possible by systematically aiming for pragmatism, precision and pedagogy. Secondly, to constantly adapt to the changes in our legal profession with regard to the evolution of legal texts and new communication technologies.
What does the notion of predictive justice mean to you?
It reminds me of a coming upheaval in the way we practice law. Its objectives are laudable: to speed up the settlement of disputes and to ensure legal certainty by making court decisions predictable. At the same time, I remain cautious because the law is also shaped by judges who take into account the evolution of our society. Predictive justice should not be the justice of the past. Based solely on decisions rendered in the past, predictive justice should not be allowed to hinder the evolution of the law and widen the gap between our society and justice.
Do you consider yourself impacted by the digital transformation?
Yes, I consider myself impacted by the transformation, and in two ways. On a professional level, I am very involved in Milleis Banque's work to promote digitalisation in communication with its clients but also with institutions. And on a private level, it must be acknowledged that it is very difficult not to be seduced by all the advantages of new information technologies provided that you keep control of them. At the same time, it is very difficult to resist them given the growing importance of information technology in our society.
What do you expect from AI solutions?
I have three main expectations.
The first and most important is to ensure complementarity between human and AI solutions. AI should not replace the human especially in decision making because it is important to keep a place for emotional intelligence. AI must remain an aid to automate certain activities that can be automated and improve the tasks of humans to make them more effective.
The second expectation concerns the need to train humans to use AI to strengthen trust between the two and ensure this complementarity.
Finally, the third expectation is that of a lawyer. It concerns the importance of establishing rules to enhance the value of the data included in AI, to regulate access to and sharing of this data and, above all, to define the responsibilities in terms of decision-making by AI.
How do you see your job in 10 years?
There must be an AI to answer this question!
More seriously, in ten years, I don't think my function will be significantly changed. The legal profession will be practiced in a different way by those who will be able to afford AI tools and those who will not. In any case, society and companies will always need human contact, available and close to hand, to answer legal questions.
