Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo has placed human-centered governance at the heart of the judiciary’s adoption of artificial intelligence, emphasizing that technological experimentation should not compromise rights, due process, security and public trust.
Gesmundo outlined the approach during a two-day conference of judges and legal scholars discussing judicial transitions, judicial accountability and the use of AI in courts.
“In our own innovation journey, we move fast on experimentation. But we move carefully on the core of what courts do,” he said.
The judiciary’s governance framework, according to Gesmundo, deliberately refers to the technology as “human-centered augmented intelligence” rather than “artificial intelligence.”
The distinction emphasizes AI as a support tool within the justice system rather than technology operating independently of the people and institutions it is intended to serve.
“Technology is a mechanism, but people are the purpose,” Gesmundo said. “True transformation is not merely technical—it is deeply human.”
Gesmundo, the country’s 27th Chief Justice, spearheaded the Supreme Court’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, which seeks to advance efficiency, innovation and access to justice.
As he approaches his scheduled retirement on Nov. 6, Gesmundo has also proposed extending judicial innovation cooperation beyond the Philippines through the creation of an ASEAN Judicial Innovation Hub in partnership with Stanford University.
The proposal comes alongside the judiciary’s continuing digital transformation and its effort to establish a framework for using emerging technologies while safeguarding the fundamental functions of the courts.| BNN Integrated News
