Human-Centered AI and Legal Ethics: A Framework for Responsible Innovation

Abstract

The accelerating integration of artificial intelligence into legal systems has transformed the way decisions are made, interpreted, and enforced across judicial and administrative domains. This narrative review examines the theoretical, ethical, and governance challenges posed by AI while proposing a human-centered framework for responsible innovation. As legal institutions increasingly adopt AI-driven tools for tasks such as predictive analytics, risk assessments, legal research automation, and adjudication support, tensions emerge between technological efficiency and foundational legal values, including accountability, fairness, transparency, and human autonomy. The review explores how traditional ethical duties—professional responsibility, diligence, competence, confidentiality, and impartiality—are reshaped by algorithmic influence, particularly when opaque or biased systems affect high-stakes decisions. It further assesses the societal and institutional risks associated with systemic discrimination, responsibility diffusion, and over-reliance on automated reasoning. In analyzing existing global regulatory approaches, the article highlights the importance of legislative frameworks, soft-law instruments, and institutional oversight mechanisms that aim to safeguard due process and protect human rights in AI-mediated environments. Drawing on these insights, the study develops a multi-layered governance model grounded in design-level human-centricity, institutional safeguards, and updated professional ethical duties. This model emphasizes ethics-by-design, transparency-by-design, and privacy-by-design principles, combined with audit frameworks, human rights impact assessments, and enhanced professional competencies for legal practitioners. By articulating how human-centered AI can strengthen justice systems, reduce arbitrariness, and support informed legal decision-making, the article underscores the potential for AI to act as a complementary tool that enhances rather than replaces human judgment. The review concludes that responsible innovation in legal AI requires aligning technological development with the normative principles that sustain fairness, legitimacy, and public trust in legal institutions.