DigitalSaathi

Digital Assistant for Legal Awareness and Designing a KYR framework in India

Problem:

Access to legal information and awareness is a challenge for many people in India, especially those who are not literate or from marginalized communities. A user-friendly and easily accessible platform for legal awareness can help address this challenge and improve legal awareness and access to justice for all citizens.

The challenge is to develop a digital assistant that can provide legal information and guidance to people in a user-friendly manner. The digital assistant should be able to converse in multiple languages and provide information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. The digital assistant should be able to address common legal queries and provide information on various legal topics.

The key features of a successful digital assistant for legal awareness include:

• Effectiveness in providing legal information and guidance in a user-friendly manner

• Ease of accessibility through various devices and languages

• Innovation in design and functionality

• Potential for scalability and sustainability

• Impact on improving legal awareness and access to justice for marginalized communities

The digital solution should also be integrated with an all-encompassing framework of Know-Your-Rights, which will educate citizens in India about their legal rights, entitlements, and remedies.

This challenge is important because it has the potential to make a significant impact on the lives of many people in India. By providing access to legal information and awareness, the digital assistant can help people to protect their rights and seek justice when they are wronged.

Challenge:

Develop a digital assistant that can provide legal information and guidance to people in a user-friendly manner. The digital assistant should be able to converse in multiple languages and provide information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. The platform should be accessible through various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. The digital assistant should be able to address common legal queries, such as:

1. What are my rights as a citizen?

2. How can I file a complaint?

3. How can I access legal aid services?

4. How can I obtain legal documents?

5. What are the legal implications of a particular action?

The digital assistant should also be able to provide information on various legal topics, such as family law, property law, labor law, and criminal law.

Proposed Solution:

A digital assistant that can provide legal information and guidance in a user-friendly manner can be developed using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning (ML) technologies. The digital assistant should be able to converse in multiple languages and provide information in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. The platform should be accessible through various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers.

The digital assistant can be developed using the following steps:

1. Data collection and preparation: Collect and prepare a large dataset of legal information and guidance, including laws, regulations, case laws, and legal articles. The dataset should be in multiple languages to make the digital assistant accessible to a wider audience.
2. Model development: Develop an AI model that can process the legal information and guidance dataset and generate responses to user queries in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. The model should be trained on a variety of legal topics, including family law, property law, labor law, and criminal law.
3. Chatbot development: Develop a chatbot that uses the AI model to generate responses to user queries in a conversational manner. The chatbot should be designed to be user-friendly and accessible to all, including those with disabilities.
4. Platform development: Develop a platform that hosts the chatbot and makes it accessible to users through various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers.

Scaling and sustainability:

The digital assistant can be scaled and sustained by integrating it with an all-encompassing framework of Know-Your-Rights, as described under Develop a comprehensive, accessible, and user-friendly Know-Your-Rights framework that will educate citizens in India about their legal rights, entitlements, and remedies.

The digital assistant can also be scaled and sustained by partnering with legal aid providers, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These partners can help to provide funding, resources, and expertise to support the development and operation of the digital assistant.Impact on improving legal awareness and access to justice for marginalized communities:

The digital assistant can have a significant impact on improving legal awareness and access to justice for marginalized communities. By providing legal information and guidance in a user-friendly and accessible manner, the digital assistant can help to empower marginalized communities to assert their legal rights and seek redressal in case of legal violations.

The digital assistant can also help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal system by making it easier for people to access legal information and guidance. This can lead to a reduction in the cost of legal services and an increase in the number of people who are able to access justice.

Overall, the proposed digital assistant has the potential to be a valuable tool for improving legal awareness and access to justice for marginalized communities in India.

We proposed an innovative software solution-based approach that has following capabilities

1. Identifying and compile all relevant laws and regulations.

Here we done this by working with legal experts to identify all of the laws and regulations that govern various aspects of citizens' lives in India. The laws and regulations can be compiled from a variety of sources, including government websites, legal databases, and scholarly articles.

2. Simplifying the legal language.

Here we simplified the compiled legal sources so that they are easily understandable by the common citizen. This was done by using plain language and avoiding legal jargon. For example, the term "habeas corpus" can be simplified to "the right to be brought before a judge."

3. Designed a user-friendly platform.

The digital assistant should be accessible through a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. The platform should also be designed with the needs of users with disabilities in mind. For example, the platform should be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies.

4. Speech-to-text translation.

We also included a speech-to-text translation feature by using this feature illiterate people or people from marginalized communities who can’t even able to type prompts use our solution they can communicate with our model and it can able to recognize the language spoken by the user and give responses based on the language spoken by the user

5. Regional language support

This platform is available in multiple regional languages so that it can reach a wider audience. This can be done by translating the legal information into multiple languages or by using a machine translation service our platform supports over 100+ languages

6. Legal document drafting

We are also included additional features in this platform, where user can upload their legal document in this platform and they can ask queries regarding to the legal document they uploaded

Ex: suppose I uploaded a legal document related to Power of Attorney and I can ask queries regarding to that document like

1. To whom I am giving authority over my property
2. What is that person name etc.

7. Text-to-speech

We are also included additional features text-to-speech in this platform, it converts digital text to audible speech. It helps people who have low vision to access information this feature also supports multiple languages

8. Document Upload and Translation: Users can upload legal documents for analysis. The system will recognize and translate the content into their preferred regional language for better understanding.

Software Modules

The software boasts scalability, comprising two pivotal modules: a Chatbot Module and a Law Document Upload Module.

1. Chatbot Module:

This module features an intuitive, user-friendly chatbot, ensuring accessibility for individuals across various literacy levels and from marginalized backgrounds.

It accommodates multiple regional languages and integrates text-to-speech for those who cannot read and speech-to-text for those who cannot type. This ensures that even the visually impaired can effectively utilize the platform. The chatbot provides real-time, succinct, and accurate legal information.

2. Law Document Upload Module:

This module empowers users to upload legal documents for precise guidance. It offers personalized insights into specific documents, allowing for translations into various regional languages. Users can also make modifications and download the documents. Beyond individual users, this feature is invaluable to law students and practitioners seeking guidance on legal texts and documents. These modules collectively fortify the platform, making it an indispensable tool for individuals, legal enthusiasts, and professionals alike.

Prototype:

This is the prototype of our platform with user-friendly design it has various capabilities.

Technology stack:

Frontend is designed with: HTML, CSS, JavaScript,TailwindCSS

React: used to create Chatbot UI

Backend includes:

FastAPI and Flask: used to make responses as API and urls

 MongoDB: used to handle history by storing them

AI Tools and Models:

Llama-2-7B : LLMA model used to give responses

LangChain, Hugging Face, ChromaDB,

Optical Character Recognition : used to read character from pdf to make query.

Cloud: Microsoft Azure