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Project Overview and Status

The Law Commission of Ontario’s (LCO) multiyear AI, ADM and the Justice System project brings together policymakers, legal professionals, technologists, NGOs and community members to discuss the development, deployment, regulation and impact of artificial intelligence (AI), automated decision-making (ADM) and algorithms on access to justice, human rights, and due process.

The catalyst for this project is the extraordinary growth in the use of these technologies by governments and public agencies across the world. AI and ADM systems are increasingly being used to make decisions affecting personal liberty, government benefits, regulatory compliance and access to important government services.  The growth in this technology has been controversial:  Questions about racial bias, “data discrimination,” “black box” decision-making and public participation have surfaced quickly and repeatedly when AI and ADM systems are used by governments.  These issues, and others, raise new and complex law reform issues that have not yet been addressed in Canada.

The LCO has assembled an expert Advisory Group to provide input over the course of the project.

Core Projects

AI and Automated Decision-Making in the Criminal Justice System

AI and algorithms are increasingly being used to support police and judicial decision-making in criminal justice systems across the world.

In October 2020, the LCO published The Rise and Fall of Algorithms in the American Justice System:  Lessons for Canada.  This Issue Paper considers the use of AI and algorithmic decision-making tools in bail and sentencing proceedings.  The paper provides Canadians with important insights and lessons about the use of AI and ADM in criminal justice.   This paper addresses issues such as data discrimination, the “metrics of fairness”, “scoring”, algorithmic accountability, best practices and public participation.  This report and more information about this issue is available here.

In June 2021, the LCO published AI Case Study: Probabilistic Genotyping DNA Tools Used in Canadian Courts.  This paper, authored by criminal defence counsel Jill R. Presser and Kate Robertson, considers the role and impact of AI-driven probabilistic genotyping (PG) technology to generate evidence used in criminal proceedings.  The paper addresses whether or how PG can meet the high standards of due process, accountability and transparency required by Charter and, by extension, the Canadian criminal justice system.  This report and more information about this issue is available here.

AI and Automated Decision-Making in the Civil/Administrative Justice System

This project is the civil and administrative law equivalent of the LCO’s criminal justice AI project.

In June 2022, the LCO published Accountable AI, a comprehensive analysis of how to address the risks of AI and ADM in government benefit determinations, child protection risk assessments, immigration determinations, regulatory compliance, and other decision-making in the civil and administrative justice systems.  The paper addresses AI regulation, “Trustworthy AI,” AI litigation, and how human rights and administrative law need to adapt to the challenges of government AI decision-making.

More on the LCO’s AI and Automated Decision-Making in the Civil/Administrative Justice System project is available here.

Regulating Government Use of AI and Automated Decision-Making

Governments across the world are increasingly using AI and automated decision-making (ADM) systems to determine government entitlements, prioritize public services, predict policing and support decisions regarding bail and sentencing.

The LCO’s Regulating AI: Critical Issues and Choices report is a ground-breaking analysis of how to regulate AI and automated decision-making (ADM) systems used by governments and other public institutions.  The report discusses key choices and options, identifies regulatory gaps, and proposes a comprehensive framework to ensure governments using AI and ADM systems protect human rights, ensure due process and promote public participation.  More on the LCO’s Regulating AI report is available here.

The LCO’s Comparing European and Canadian AI Regulation report compares and contrasts AI regulation in Canada and the European Union.  This paper considers the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and identifies lessons for Canadian policymakers.  This paper was written in partnership with the Research Chair on Accountable Artificial Intelligence in a Global Context at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law – Civil Law Section.  More information is available here.

Multidisciplinary Workshops on AI, Automated Decision-making and the Law

The LCO is organizing a series of collaborative, multidisciplinary workshops to discuss AI, automated decision-making and the law.  The workshops bring a wide range of stakeholders to collectively learn about the legal, operational, technological and practical issues and challenges of developing, deploying and regulating these technologies.  LCO workshops include:

  • In November and December 2020, the LCO organized a workshop in partnership with the provincial government’s Ontario Digital Service addressing disclosure, bias, due process and public participation in government AI and ADM systems. The LCO’s report, Legal Issues and Government AI Development, identifies major themes and practical insights to assist governments considering this technology.
  • In December 2019, the LCO hosted an invitational forum on automated decision-making in the civil and administrative justice system. The event brought together more than 30 policy makers, lawyers, jurists, technologists, academics, and community organizers to share experiences, discuss issues, and consider law reform options.
  • In March 2019, the LCO partnered with The Citizen Lab, the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the Criminal Lawyers Association to host Canada’s first multidisciplinary forum addressing predictive policing, citizen profiling, and automated bail and sentencing.

The LCO’s AI, ADM and the Justice System project is partially funded by a Law Foundation of Ontario Justice and Technology Grant.

Other LCO Digital Rights Initiatives

Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights

On Tuesday, February 4, 2020 the LCO participated in York University’s Annual Inclusion Day, an event that focuses on the theme of belonging and exploring ways to promote a greater sense of belonging at York. This event is a joint partnership between the LCO, and York University’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion (REI) and the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights Sub-Committees.

From 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, the LCO hosted a panel at the Helliwell Centre in Osgoode Hall Law School, titled Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights at YorkU: A Panel Discussion on Impacts and Opportunities.

Moderated by Ryan Fritsch, Counsel with the Law Commission of Ontario, the panel of speakers included:

  • Insiya Essajee, Counsel, Ontario Human Rights Commission
  • Professor Trevor Farrow, Osgoode Hall Law School
  • Professor Regina Rini, Department of Philosophy, York University
  • Professor Ruth Urner, Department of Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering

AI, Access to Justice and Legal Aid

In June 2019, the LCO presented a paper, AI and Automated Decision-Making: lmpact on Access to Justice and Legal Aid, to the 2019 International Legal Aid Group global conference.  The paper discussed the impact of technology on access to justice for low-income communities and presented ideas for how legal aid plans plan can respond.

 

AI for Lawyers:  A Primer on AI in Ontario’s Justice System

In May 2019, the LCO partnered with Element AI and Osgoode Hall Law School to present “AI for Lawyers:  A Primer on Artificial Intelligence in Ontario’s Legal System“. This symposium explored how automated decision-making and artificial intelligence are changing the practice of law, litigation, and legal regulation in Ontario’s justice system.  Speakers included Carole Piovesan, Richard Zuroff, and Jill Presser.

 

Digital Rights:  Issue Identification and Planning Meeting

In November 2018, the LCO convened a roundtable of subject-matter experts on how best to scope and sequence the LCO’s digital rights law reform projects spanning automated decision-making, consumer protection, and precarious work.

 

LCO/Mozilla Roundtable on Digital Rights and Digital Society

In March 2018, the LCO partnered with the Mozilla Foundation to bring together policy makers, legal scholars, lawyers, technologists, academics and community organizers to discuss a digital rights agenda for Ontario and beyond.

A report on the findings of this event is available here. Among the priority themes identified were:

  • transparency and accountability for artificial intelligence and algorithms automatically filter content, price goods, determine eligibility for bail, and make medical recommendations,
  • questions about how digital consumer rights can strike a better balance beyond the choice to either opt-in or miss-out, and
  • modernizing employment and labour rights for the increasing proportion of Ontarians making a living in the “gig economy” of contingent and precarious work.

 

Earlier Work on Digital Rights

Earlier LCO work on digital rights includes hosting an International Conference on Defamation Law in the Age of the Internet, a panel presentation at the 2018 global RightsCon, and partnering with Legal Aid Ontario to host an open data and open government symposium.

  • November 2018: The LCO convened a roundtable to elicit the advice of over a dozen subject-matter experts on how best to scope and sequence a series of digital rights law reform projects spanning automated decision-making, consumer protections, and precarious work.
  • May 2018: The LCO partners with the Mozilla Foundation to host a Roundtable on Digital Rights and Digital Society that brought together a dozen key policy makers, legal scholars, lawyers, technologists, academics and community organizers to discuss a digital rights agenda for Ontario and beyond.
  • May 2018: The LCO hosts an International Conference on Defamation Law in the Age of the Internet, cited by one participant as among the most comprehensive analysis of a defamation law framework to date, anywhere in the world.
  • May 2018: The LCO hosts a panel presentation at RightsCon, Canada’s largest conference on digital rights and digital society, discussing Reforming Intermediary Responsibility: Testing a Human Rights Centred Framework Beyond the Liability and Immunity Divide 
  • September 2017: The LCO’s Class Actions Project received funding from the Department of Justice to establish a public, online, open data catalogue of class action cases and information. This is the first of its kind in Canada and will support ongoing access to justice and law reform research across the country.
  • April 2016: The LCO partners with Legal Aid Ontario to host an Open Data, Open Government Symposium, looking at concrete issues of transparency, accountability, and “big data” for government, courts, and tribunals in Ontario.