Generative AI in Small Value Consumer Disputes: Reviving Not Resolving Challenges of Design and Governance in Online Dispute Resolution

Abstract

This article examines the benefits and risks of generative artificial intelligence (‘GenAI’) use in an important domain that is currently under-serviced by the civil justice system: small value consumer claims, where GenAI has been proposed as a means of closing the access to justice gap. In the online dispute resolution (‘ODR’) field, use of digital tools such as expert systems and rules-based chatbots has been advanced to assist potential litigants. GenAI has considerable attractions in this context because of its adaptivity and flexibility in responding to prompts. The question is whether the risk of hallucinations inherent in GenAI undermines these benefits. While strategies such as retr..