Court turns to AI tools to settle case
TMT (Telecoms, Media, Technology) | Court turns to AI tools to settle case
In the ruling “Aguilera, Nancy Bibiana y otros c/ Aguas Santafesinas S.A. s/ Medida Autosatisfactiva”, resolved by the 1st Instance Civil and Commercial Court of Rosario, the court resorted to the Meta AI tool -WhatsApp’s artificial intelligence button- to settle the case.
The plaintiffs sued Aguas Santafesinas S.A. for the deficiency in the potable water supply to their home. They claimed to have suffered a significant reduction in water pressure for over eight years, affecting their quality of life.
The defendant argued, among other things, that the pressure records ranged between 1 and 3 meters of water column (“MCA”) in summer and between 5 and 6 MCA in winter, indicating that the service was being provided -albeit with reduced supply pressure-. However, it should be noted that, in that jurisdiction, the minimum supply pressure level must be 7 MCA.
Because of this, the court used the Meta IA technological tool to obtain informative evidence that ended up contributing to the analysis and resolution of the case. In response to the question “[i]s the right to access water at a pressure of less than 1 MCA met?”, Meta IA answered “no”.
Elaborating on its argument, it stated that “[t]he right to access water involves not only having access to a sufficient quantity of water but also ensuring that the water is safe, acceptable, affordable, and accessible”. Moreover, it stated that “[a] pressure as low as 1 MCA (…) does not meet these criteria, so it is not considered to be adequately fulfilling the right to access water”.
The ruling asserts that “the inquiries made by the judge to the websites (in this case, WhatsApp) reflect the process of verifying the facts and the arguments presented by the parties in the case.” In this way, “access to information that essentially has the characteristics of publicity and notoriety does not, in any way, constitute an overreach in judicial activity, and thus cannot be subject to any criticism”.
As a resolution to the case, the judge ordered the defendant to take the necessary measures to guarantee the supply of potable water under appropriate conditions.
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Florencia Rosati
Mariana Lamarca Vidal