200 Judges Have Signed Up To Learn AI—The Other 31,500 Should Too

InnovationScience200 Judges Have Signed Up To Learn AI—The Other 31,500 Should TooByLars Daniel,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Lars Daniel covers digital evidence and forensics in life and law.Follow AuthorApr 24, 2026, 03:40pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Judges need education on AI and deepfake evidence. gettyAI is showing up in courtrooms faster than most courtrooms have had a chance to adjust, and there are not yet many forums where judges can compare notes on it with each other. That is the gap the Judicial AI Consortium is filling. JAIC is a judges-only forum launched in January 2026 by three sitting judges: Judge Scott U. Schlegel of the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell of the District of Colorado and Judge Xavier Rodriguez of the Western District of Texas.It is a room where judges can compare notes on how AI is showing up in their chambers, what they are doing about it and what is working or not working. As of a March 2026 interview on the Texas Appellate Counsel podcast, about 200 judges had signed up.That is a good start. It is not enough.Why A Judges-Only AI Forum Is The Right StructureMost judicial AI training has been built by people who are not judges. Vendors run demos. Bar associations host panels. Academics write papers. Digital forensics experts like me come in to explain the technology. All of that is necessary. Judges need outside help to get up to speed on how the models work, how the files are processed and what the evidence actually shows. MORE FOR YOUBut the education is the input. The ruling is the output, and the ruling belongs to the judge. The buck stops on the bench. A ruling on an AI question becomes precedent, and nobody else in the courtroom is accountable for that ruling in the same way. Schlegel put the asymmetry plainly in his March i...