Lord Mayor set to call for robust international standards in AI at Judges Dinner

The Lord Mayor is set to call for robust international standards to ensure ethical AI development as the judicial system continues to integrate the new tech.

Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli is set to host the annual His Majesty’s Judges Dinner tonight at Mansion House. Around 350 guests are expected to attend, including several senior judiciary figures and leaders and professionals from the courts and legal sector.

The Lord Mayor will speak alongside the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood MP and the Lady Chief Justice, The Right Honourable the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill.

In a preview of his speech, the Lord Mayor will say that the use of AI in the judicial system is “an issue of some concern” across the sector.

He will note that his Office’s Ethical AI Initiative has been promoting international standards, specifically ISO 42001, the AI management system.

“While the rule of law’s subtle importance all too frequently goes unrecognised, including by business people, we shouldn’t need AI to tell us that it’s a foundation stone of societal infrastructure,” he will tell the room.

Adding, “one that is not only crucial to trade, but in the form of our thriving legal services sector, is of trade too.”

Additionally, the Lord Mayor will speak to the City Corporation’s commitment to the rule of law.

He will say “here at the City of London Corporation, which I affectionately like to refer to as the world’s oldest democratic workers’ and residents’ cooperative, we have then a long and proud tradition rooted in the law.”

Back in April 2021, a special planning sub-committee of the City Corporation approved planning permission for the Salisbury Square Development.

With a £596m investment, the flagship facility for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is set to provide 18 new court rooms alongside a headquarters for the City of London Police.

This will be one of the last dinners for Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli, he is expected to stand down from the role in November. Financial services and asset management veteran Alderman Alastair King is set to be appointed to the role a day before the historic Lord Mayor’s show on 9 November.