Justice in the 21st centuty: Ramesh Shrestha

Our unique moral values

Love and compassion are integral parts of relationships, unique to the animal kingdom, especially among the mammals, and even more so among the primates. But the concept of justice is unique to the species Home sapiens, the mighty modern man. The belief in justice is based on moral principles of fairness, respect, virtue and impartiality. It is rational to believe that the legal system everywhere is based on the idea of justice which treats citizens with fairness when in conflict with the law – a principle of universal justice. Irrespective of the origins of the concept of justice, rudiments of justice can be found in all religions and cultures across the globe long before the birth of modern civilisation. Can the justice system keep pace with the evolving technology which has invaded all aspects of our society?

Idealistic and unrealistic?

Despite accepting the idea of justice, throughout our history we have read about injustice during imperialism, colonialism, communism and in contemporary governance – democratic or not. In our everyday life we see plenty of injustice in terms of economic inequality, domination of the weak by the powerful and poor by the rich. These are the indications of drawbacks in the justice system despite the constitutional provision of 'equality before the law'. Is the expectation of people in the justice system being unrealistic and idealistic? The backbone of the justice system is the principle of impartiality and objectivity. These are exactly also the location of the problem as the people on many occasions are neither impartial nor objective when it comes to making decisions influenced by social, cultural, religious, economic and political ideology. People referred to are the politicians, business entities and even legal entities – in fact anyone who can influence the government apparatus.

Social justice and technology

Besides the social, cultural and political influence, a question for us today is how will the justice system which has its origins centuries ago based on moral principles and sociocultural values adjust with the evolving technology? The application of technology has contributed in solving numerous societal problems such as DNA analysis and facial recognition in tracking criminals. Use of mobile phones have penetrated deep into societies everywhere which has helped promote businesses among rural farmers. Farmers in rural areas are able to get paid through mobile phones. The digitisation of official documents including archives has helped people in getting access to all official documents which has empowered people with minimum cost in time and money.

There are also dangers of misapplication of technology which can result in social and economic inequalities, exclusion and discrimination; for example, the use of facial recognition technology can reinforce racial bias in policing practices. Another potential drawback is access to the system itself. Many public services have migrated to online mode for basic questions and accessing services. More and more online services are 'manned' by a 'virtual assistant' ready with answers to common questions a caller may have. In the absence of a person to speak to or meeting people behind a desk, people from marginalised communities may not get the support they need. With growing impersonal behaviour of service providers, members of rural communities and marginalised groups are likely to miss out in accessing justice they deserve.

Assisting people with limited digital literacy

Growth in technology will continue. It is already transforming our work processes and various segments of our society unimagined just a few years ago. Given the fact that we live in an unequal world, the policy makers have to make sure that application of technology in governance, especially in the justice system, does not leave behind people belonging to the weaker segments of our society. There are many reports of cybercrimes against older generations by emptying their life's savings. According to the Interpol there are people providing cybercrime as a service for a fee. They normally target unassuming older people and people with limited technical knowledge.

Yet, another issue with digitisation of the justice system is complete loss of privacy of individuals as everything is online instead of being in paper files. Safeguarding such personal information and data should be a priority for the justice system to protect it from hackers. With much of the work done online the most important component missing is a sense of a feeling, a sense of human touch between a client and a service provider. The responses provided by online services based on programming algorithms learned by the machines, may not be able to satisfactorily respond to issues a client may have. The technology is moving ahead and being applied across all public services. Yes, it increases efficiency of the work processes and access to information but the digital literacy of the bottom 15 to 20 percent of the population who fall in the category of low income, disabled, minority groups, refugees, and stateless population may remain inadequate with the speed required to access the services.

Technology replacing humans?

There are experiments being carried out by using predictive algorithms in the criminal justice system to advise the sitting judge in deciding bail hearing and sentencing determinations. It is similar to AI powered software diagnosing an x-ray by comparing it with similar x-rays available in the archives. Based on a study available, the diagnosis provided was accurate (King's College Dec 2023). A moral question is, can we actually delegate the legal system to technology which has no heart and soul? In the legal system there are needs for compassion, empathy and to hear arguments in the current perspective. This is perhaps an extreme case. But the fact is that the impact of technology on social and economic disparity must be taken into account seriously before wholesale application of technology in all public services, especially in the justice system. With the fast advancing of artificial intelligence, gaps in the digital divide are likely to grow. As the justice system is integrating technology into their routine works there is a need to be inclusive to address the needs of non-technical vulnerable communities. People who have access to modern technology could overrun the ones with limited access to technology in finding jobs, learning new technology and accessing services.

Is there a solution?

Advances in technology will continue, so is its application in all affairs of our society. Application of technology results in efficiency but it comes at a cost. Technology has given us profits and efficiency but it has taken away meaningful connectivity between people. Human beings are social animals but technology has converted us to act like robots. The most important issue for humans is how not to lose moral values and protect the most vulnerable population from being exploited by technology. We are living in a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is not the fault of technology as such but how and where technology is applied is the concern. The Man is still in-charge of making such decisions. What is needed is application of moral principles, economic and political rationale while deciding where and how technology is applied to ensure that the weakest segments of society are protected. Technology, yes, but never forget justice for all.

Read more articles by Ramesh here.
Or contact Ramesh at ramesh.chauni@gmail.com
Labels: Ramesh