On 6 August 2026, Erick Mukiza, Executive Director of ESS Creative and Legal Foundation and an Accredited Mediator, participated in a session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Legal Practice at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam.
The session was led by Oliver Roberts, Co-Director of the WashU Law AI Collaborative and Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Participants included experienced alumni of U.S. exchange programmes working in the legal and justice sectors, together with U.S. Embassy staff.
The session examined the opportunities and challenges of adopting AI within the justice sector. Participants learned that AI adoption in Tanzania's justice sector remains limited, estimated at approximately 10%, with challenges including limited access to reliable internet.
The discussion highlighted the potential of AI to support legal professionals in tasks such as analyzing facts, summarising documents, conducting legal research, and handling repetitive tasks. AI should support human decision-making rather than replace it, with human professionals remaining responsible for verification and final decisions.
The session also emphasized the need to understand and manage AI-related risks, particularly privacy and confidentiality, trust and fairness, and the risks associated with automated decision-making.
For ESS, the discussion reinforced the importance of exploring responsible technology adoption in legal and mediation practice while ensuring that innovation remains inclusive, ethical, and centered on people.
