Cognitive enhancement in the judiciary

Autores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17808/des.59.1785

Palavras-chave:

Human enhancement, Cognitive enhancement, Unconscious bias, Judicial decision-making, Neuroethics.

Resumo

Abstract: Evidence shows that judicial decisions are prone to implicit biases, such as ingroup favoring, anchoring, base rate neglect, hindsight, and racial bias. Given the high stakes in judicial decision-making not only for the parties directly affected but for society in general, the question of improving the quality of these decisions is important. Judicial review, workload reduction, adequate legal education and training are some of the methods commonly pointed out to reach this goal. Judicial decision-making involves multiple tasks, each of which use various cognitive and emotional processes to different degrees. Albeit there are a growing number of investigations exploring the possibility of applying biotechnologies to enhance cognitive function, there is virtually no research exploring the possibility of using these techniques to enhance judicial cognition. Thus, this article aims to advance the discussion, investigating the ways in which cognitive enhancement could improve the quality of judicial decisions, and questioning whether there could be a moral duty for judges to undergo cognitive enhancement. The approach to the problem through the specific ethical framework of virtue jurisprudence reveals that it is possible to establish a common ground of values from which such a duty can be derived.

Keywords: cognitive enhancement, unconscious bias, judicial decision-making, neurolaw, virtue jurisprudence.


Resumo: As evidências mostram que decisões judiciais também estão sujeitas a vieses implícitos, como favoritismo intragrupo, ancoragem, inferências estatísticas, viés de retrospecto e racial. Dada a grande importância do processo de tomada de decisões judiciais, não apenas para as partes diretamente afetadas, mas também para a sociedade em geral, a questão de melhorar a qualidade dessas decisões é importante. Controle jurisdicional, redução da carga de trabalho, educação jurídica adequada e treinamento são alguns dos métodos comumente apontados para atingir esse objetivo. Embora haja um número crescente de investigações explorando a possibilidade de aplicar tecnologias para aprimorar a função cognitiva, praticamente não há pesquisas explorando a possibilidade de usar essas técnicas para aprimorar a cognição judicial. Assim, este artigo tem como objetivo avançar a discussão, investigando as formas pelas quais o aprimoramento cognitivo poderia melhorar a qualidade das decisões judiciais, e questiona se poderia haver um dever moral para os juízes se submeterem ao aprimoramento cognitivo. A abordagem do problema através do quadro ético específico da jurisprudência da virtude revela que é possível estabelecer um terreno comum de valores sobre os quais tal dever pode ser extraído.

Palavras-chave: aprimoramento cognitivo, viés inconsciente, tomada de decisão judicial, neurodireito, jurisprudência da virtude.

Biografia do Autor

Giovana Lopes, Universidade de Bologna

PhD candidate at Law, Science and Technology at the University of Bologna and at KU Leuven.

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2021-12-01

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Lopes, G. (2021). Cognitive enhancement in the judiciary. Revista Direito, Estado E Sociedade, (59). https://doi.org/10.17808/des.59.1785

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