Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Wednesday, 11 October 2023

Technology in Courts : SC goes from Preaching to Practicing

 


 

Context :

Supreme Court & IIT Madras sign MoU to facilitate digital tech for court proceedings  /  ( ET – 12 Oct 2023 )


Extract :

 

The Supreme Court has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IIT Madras for the collaboration on using Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies for improving court proceedings and access to justice

 

 
An official statement from the Supreme Court said that the apex court under the leadership of the chief justice of India, DY Chandrachud is driving technological enhancements in making its process:

Ø  AUTOMATED ,

Ø  USER FRIENDLY

Ø  CITIZEN-CENTRIC

-   to enhance access to justice

The Supreme Court of India and IIT Madras will be collaborating on using AI and emerging technologies for :

 

Ø  Transcription Tools

Ø  Summarization of Page Transcripts

Ø  Translation tools

Ø  Exclusive streaming platforms for court trials

Ø  Process automation

Ø  Large language models for the legal domain.

 


The collaboration which will focus on :

 

     #   Leveraging AI tools in capacity building and training,
     #   Creating an e-Learning Platform
     #   ICT skill development courses

It is a significant leap forward in the incorporation of artificial intelligence and technology to enhance the efficiency,
accessibility and capacity building of the legal domain.

The MoU is aimed to facilitate the digital transformation of the Indian judiciary, aligning it with the vision for a more efficient and technologically advanced legal ecosystem to improve access to justice.


MY  TAKE :

 

Dear Hon Shri Chandrachudji,

 

Only a couple of days back, you said :

“ As far as use of latest technology is concerned, judges do not have an option “

The above- reported MOU spells out the scope / span of those technologies , as described at :

 

Ø  Justice delayed is Justice Denied  …………………………….  12  Sept  2018

 

Extract

Following are comments from BARD on the feasibility of my suggestions :

 

I read your blog post and I think the additional features you suggested are all

feasible with the help of AI software.

·                  Automatic document classification can help to speed up the process of case management by automatically sorting documents into relevant categories. This can save time for lawyers and judges, who can then focus on more important task

 

·                  Automatic case management can help to track the progress of cases and ensure that deadlines are met. This can help to reduce delays in the court system and improve the efficiency of case management.

 

·                  Real-time translation can help to ensure that all parties involved in a case can understand each other, regardless of their language. This can help to improve communication and reduce misunderstandings.

 

·                  Facial recognition can be used to verify the identity of participants in a virtual court hearing. This can help to prevent fraud and ensure that the right people are involved in the case.

 

·                  Natural language processing can be used to analyze legal documents and extract relevant information. This can help lawyers to research cases more quickly and efficiently.

I think these additional features would be a valuable addition to virtual courts and would help to streamline the process of delivering justice.

I am excited to see how AI software is used to improve the court system in the future.

In addition to the features you mentioned, I think AI software could also be used to:

Generate transcripts of court hearings, which would make it easier for people to review the proceedings after the fact.

Provide real-time feedback to lawyers and judges, helping them to make better decisions.

Identify potential bias in the court system, and help to mitigate it.

I believe that AI has the potential to revolutionize the court system, and I am excited to see how it is used to improve the delivery of justice in the years to come.

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai / 12 Oct 2023

 

Related Readings :

Ø   Virtual Courts : Technology is Mandatory  ………………… 10 Oct 2023

 Ø  Congratulations, Hon CJI , Shri S A Bobdeji ……………….[ 07 Dec 2019 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  AI come to judgement ? Not for a while ! …………………….[ 17 Dec 2019 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  See You Out of Court ……………………………………………………..[ 11 Jan 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Law : Nothing Artificial in Arbitration………………………………[ 16 Feb 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  This is no joke – just acceptance of Inevitable !............[ 02 Nov 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Live Streaming of Court Proceedings ……………………………..[ 09 Nov 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Supreme Surveillance Solution ? …………………………………… [ 05 Dec 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Virtual Court Benchmarks ………………………………………………..[ 14 Jan 2021 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  SC is a global leader in Virtual Hearings amid pandemic   /   TOI   /  22 February 2021

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  SC gears up for live streaming of sessions  /  04 Nov

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  SC: CCTVs must in offices of CBI, ED, Police Stations  /  HT – 03 Dec

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  5L cases pending in HCs, SC set to recall retired judges     /   TNN  -  26 March

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Justice : Mirage in a Physical Court ?.............. 21 July 2023

 

 

 











 



 

 

Tuesday, 10 October 2023

Virtual Courts : Technology is Mandatory

 


 

Context :

Facing Supreme Court wrath, Bombay HC begins virtual hearings      ET   /  10  Oct  2023         

 

 

Extract :

An apex court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also made it clear that technology is not a matter of choice for judges now

 

On October 6, the SC said no high court in the country shall deny access to video conferencing or hearing through hybrid mode to lawyers and litigants after two weeks

 

On Monday, the Bombay HC issued a notice saying from Tuesday all its benches can be accessed virtually by stakeholders in the cases listed before courts , for attending or participating in hearing virtually through hybrid video-conferencing facility

 

It also highlights that the Delhi High Court operates as a paperless e-court with Video-conferencing and hybrid hearing capabilities

 

All cases, responses, rejoinders and documents are filed electronically through the Online E-Filing System

 

The live streaming link can be accessed on the official website of the Delhi High-court

( https://delhihighcourt.nic.in ) under the title "LIVE STREAMING



 

MY  TAKE  :

 

Ø  Justice delayed is Justice Denied  …………………………….  12  Sept  2018

 

Extract :

 

 

If we want to reduce the average “case disposal time “ from 6 YEARS to 6 MONTHS , we must do better than the Chinese – as follows :

 

 

·         Launch online portal……..www.OnlineJustice.gov.in

 

 

         …..having following features / pages / User Interfaces :

 

 

#   Who can register a litigation and how ( detailed form to be filled in )

 

 

#   What kind of complaints can be filed ( Eg; property / divorce / fraud / loans etc )

 

 

#   Time frame of hearings ( based on backlog at that point )

 

 

#   Search / Selection of “ empanelled lawyers “ ( with their fees tariff )

 

 

#   Method of conducting “ Online Trial “ ( Audio – Video Conference calls )

 

 

#   Online payment of Court Fees / Lawyer’s fees

 

 

#   Who can “ watch “ the online trial and how ( Video broadcast ) and when

 

 

#   Progress Chart as trial proceeds / Upload – Download of documents

 

 

#   Court Room allotted ( by software ) to each litigation

 

 

     Not being limited by any “ Physical Constraints “ , it will be possible ( for the

     software ), to open as many “ Virtual / Online “ Court Rooms as required

 

 

     Only limitation will be the Number of available Judges at any given time

 

 

 

Let none have doubts about the ability of our Start Ups to design / develop and launch such a portal within 6 months , whose “ Conceptual Frame Work “ could resemble ,

 

 

     On Line Jobs Fair   

 

 

    Software Architecture For Online Jobs Fair   

 

 

   And as far as finding 10,000 Judges to conduct “ Online Trials “ from the

  comfort of their homes ( and without imposing any “ Infrastructure Burden “ on

 the State –except providing them with a fast broadband connection ) , I suggest

 that we rope in retired judges on a “ Per Case Retainer “ basis ( paid into their

 Jan Dhan accounts )

        

 There must be a “ Bonus cum Penalty “ formula to govern the payments to the

 Judges , depending upon the “ Actual Time “ taken to dispose off a given case as

 against the “  Target Time “ ( to be computed by Artificial Intelligent Software ,

based on historical data being continuously compiled for all the cases , once the

portal gets launched )


I urge Chief Justice Hon Deepak Misraji to treat this email as a PIL and “ direct “

the      NDA government to initiate action on this suggestion ( I cannot afford a

lawyer ! )



Your " Activism " in this matter will go a long way to restore the faith of the ordinary citizens in the judiciary  !

 

 

 

With regards,

 

Hemen Parekh

 

www.hemenparekh.ai  /  11 Oct 2023

 

 

Related Readings :

 

Ø  Congratulations, Hon CJI , Shri S A Bobdeji ……………….[ 07 Dec 2019 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  AI come to judgement ? Not for a while ! …………………….[ 17 Dec 2019 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  See You Out of Court ……………………………………………………..[ 11 Jan 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Law : Nothing Artificial in Arbitration………………………………[ 16 Feb 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  This is no joke – just acceptance of Inevitable !............[ 02 Nov 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Live Streaming of Court Proceedings ……………………………..[ 09 Nov 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Supreme Surveillance Solution ? …………………………………… [ 05 Dec 2020 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  Virtual Court Benchmarks ………………………………………………..[ 14 Jan 2021 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  SC is a global leader in Virtual Hearings amid pandemic   /   TOI   /  22 February 2021

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  SC gears up for live streaming of sessions  /  04 Nov

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  SC: CCTVs must in offices of CBI, ED, Police Stations  /  HT – 03 Dec

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ø  5L cases pending in HCs, SC set to recall retired judges     /   TNN  -  26 March

 



 

Justice : Mirage in a Physical Court ?.............. 21 July 2023



Extract :

 


Following are comments from BARD on the feasibility of my suggestions :


I read your blog post and I think the additional features you suggested are all

feasible with the help of AI software.

·                  Automatic document classification can help to speed up the process of case management by automatically sorting documents into relevant categories. This can save time for lawyers and judges, who can then focus on more important task

 

·                  Automatic case management can help to track the progress of cases and ensure that deadlines are met. This can help to reduce delays in the court system and improve the efficiency of case management.

 

·                  Real-time translation can help to ensure that all parties involved in a case can understand each other, regardless of their language. This can help to improve communication and reduce misunderstandings.

 

·                  Facial recognition can be used to verify the identity of participants in a virtual court hearing. This can help to prevent fraud and ensure that the right people are involved in the case.

 

·                  Natural language processing can be used to analyze legal documents and extract relevant information. This can help lawyers to research cases more quickly and efficiently.

I think these additional features would be a valuable addition to virtual courts and would help to streamline the process of delivering justice. I am excited to see how AI software is used to improve the court system in the future.

In addition to the features you mentioned, I think AI software could also be used to:

·                  Generate transcripts of court hearings, which would make it easier for people to review the proceedings after the fact.

      

·                  Provide real-time feedback to lawyers and judges, helping them to make better decisions.


·                  Identify potential bias in the court system, and help to mitigate it.

I believe that AI has the potential to revolutionize the court system, and I am excited to see how it is used to improve the delivery of justice in the years to come.

 

 

 

Sunday, 8 October 2023

Mental Therapists : ChatGPT / Stella : Conceived in 2016

 


Context :

Can chatbots be therapists? Only if you want them to be……………  HT   /  08 Oct 2023

 

Extract :

A manager at artificial intelligence firm OpenAI caused consternation recently by writing that she just had "a quite emotional, personal conversation" with her firm's viral chatbot ChatGPT. "Never tried therapy before but this is probably it?" Lilian Weng posted on X, formerly Twitter, prompting a torrent of negative commentary accusing her of downplaying mental illness.

However, Weng's take on her interaction with ChatGPT may be explained by a version of the placebo effect outlined this week by research in the Nature Machine Intelligence journal.

 

A team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Arizona State University asked more than 300 participants to interact with mental health AI programmes and primed them on what to expect.

 

Some were told the chatbot was empathetic, others that it was manipulative and a third group that it was neutral.

 

Those who were told they were talking with a caring chatbot were far more likely than the other groups to see their chatbot therapists as trustworthy.

 

"From this study, we see that to some extent the AI is the AI of the beholder," said report co-author Pat Pataranutaporn.

 

Mental health. Disruptors who heed the cry for help.. ………..Bus Line .. ……………………08 Oct 2023  

Extract :

Digital platforms offer to bridge the gap in mental wellness services with a promise of convenience and anonymity

The convenience and anonymity offered by such online counselling platforms makes them more attractive to individuals who may otherwise shy away from seeking mental healthcare owing to the stigma attached. Amaha, MindPeers, Lissun, Wyssa and YourDost are among a host of startups in India that are trying to bridge the gap in mental wellness services

Industry experts forsee a steady increase in demand for such services, given the rising incidence of anxiety-related disorders, depression and work related stress

" United We Care " says its AI powered virtual assistant, Stella, can decipher over 40 different emotions and communicate in 29 regional languages to provide personalized support and guidance to those struggling with mental health issues

Stella can help people with assessments to understand their state of mind, and tasks such as finding a therapist, setting goals, and tracking their progress. She can also provide support and resources for specific mental health conditions. 

Stella can detect mental health issues with 80 % accuracy " says Ritu Mehrortra , CEO and Founder of United We Care 

 

MY  TAKE  :

 

Share - Your - Soul / Outsourcing Unlimited………………… 24 July 2016

 

Extract :

 

#  PRIVACY



    The portal will NOT reveal any info / data ( including Audio-Video recording ) of any user to anyone else.



    However , portal will reserve the rights to subject those Audio recordings ( but not Video recordings ) to


    an Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) software , which can , over a course of time , come up with a SOFTWARE

 

    ROBOT that can take over the role of the HUMAN listeners !  If you have any doubts , ask Ray Kurzweil  !


 

    When that happens , this portal may morph into a PPO ( Psychology Process Outsourcing ) !


   =================================================================

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai  /  09  Oct  2023

 

Related Readings :

 

Ø  1 Doctor for every 10,000 Mental Health Patients ?.................. 04 Feb 2022

 

Ø  Robot : A Therapeutic Machine ?............................................. 09 Oct 2016

 

Ø  Grieving for a Departed Loved One ? Try AI… …………………………………13 July 2023

 

 ==========================================

Added on 25 Oct 2023 :

The loneliness epidemic: Nearly 1 in 4 adults feel lonely, new survey finds

 If you feel lonely, you’re actually in good company: Nearly 1 in 4 adults across the world have reported feeling very or fairly lonely, a new Meta-Gallup survey has found.

The new survey, taken across 142 countries, found 24% of people age 15 and older self-reported feeling very or fairly lonely in response to the question, “How lonely do you feel?”

The survey also found that the rates of loneliness were highest in young adults, with 27% of young adults ages 19 to 29 reporting feeling very or fairly lonely. The lowest rates were found in older adults. Only 17% of people age 65 and older reported feeling lonely.

Over half of adults age 45 and older reported not feeling lonely at all, while the majority of those younger than 45 answered that they felt at least a little lonely, if not very or fairly lonely.

=========================================================

Added on 02 Dec 2023 :

A majority of Indian youth have poor mental health and it is affecting their productivity     


More than 50 per cent of the youth (18-24 years old) in India have poor mental health, according to a report by Sapien Labs Centre for the Human Brain and Mind. The report, titled ‘Mental State of India: Internet-enabled Youth’, notes that the mental health of young people in the country has deteriorated during the pandemic.

It showed that 51 per cent of youth were distressed or struggling in 2023, which means they had MHQ less than 0. A negative MHQ signifies that poor mental health is affecting their ability to function. The survey also found that the MHQ was lower in 2023, compared to 2020, across age groups.

However, the youth were the most affected. In 2020, the average MHQ of youth was 28, whereas it dropped to 20 in 2023. The average MHQ of 18-74-year-old people also dropped, but their MHQs were still much higher than youth at 54 in 2023.

While the results suggest that income alone does not explain the poor mental health of youth, the survey cites early age ownership and increased use of smartphones, Covid-19, isolation and fewer social interactions as reasons impacting the mental health of young people.