Researchers say AI tools could make justice systems more just

Researchers are calling for open and free access to U.S. court records and building an AI tool to analyze them. Why it matters: Court records are publicly available but expensive to access and difficult to navigate. Freeing up that data -- and using machine learning tools to make sense of it -- would help make the justice system more just. While records for Congress and executive agencies are free on the internet, federal courts charge $0.10 per printed page to view any record online. What's new: In one example of the kind of analysis that could be possible with open access, researchers from Northwestern University used an algorithm to scan court records and determine how often judges granted waivers for the $400 fee required to file a federal lawsuit.