AI and Dispute Resolution: What the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator Means? And What It Could Mean for KSA?

Elaqat Team
Nov 10
7 min read

Updated: Nov 11

AI and Dispute Resolution: What the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator Means? And What It Could Mean for Saudi Arabia?

Can artificial intelligence meaningfully change how we resolve disputes?

In 2025, the American Arbitration Association–International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) took a concrete step in that direction by launching its AI Arbitrator for certain construction disputes. Rather than replacing humans, the AI Arbitrator is designed to pair AI analysis with human judgment to deliver faster, more efficient decisions while preserving fairness and due process.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia is pushing hard on digital justice and national AI strategies under Vision 2030, creating a natural space to explore how models like AAA-ICDR’s might eventually inspire AI-assisted dispute resolution in the Kingdom.

Key Takeaways

The AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator is currently limited to two-party, documents-only construction disputes. It is not yet used for all types of cases.
Every AI-led case still has a human arbitrator who reviews and can revise the AI’s draft award before issuing the final decision (human-in-the-loop).
Reported estimates shows 20-25% faster resolution times and 35% or more cost savings in documents-only construction disputes, compared with traditional approaches.
Saudi Arabia has already digitized much of its justice system through platforms like Najiz and a broad portfolio of MoJ initiatives (e-litigation, integrated case management, unified translation center, etc.), and is rolling out a national Data & AI strategy through SDAIA.
Applying an AAA-style AI Arbitrator in Saudi Arabia would require alignment with Sharia, Arabic-language legal data, local regulation, and strong AI governance but could, in time, complement Vision 2030’s goals of faster, more accessible justice.

1. From Traditional to AI-Assisted Dispute Resolution

For decades, dispute resolution moved mainly through:

Courts (litigation)
Arbitration and mediation (ADR)

These mechanisms work, but they can be slow and costly, especially in high-volume areas like construction where documentation is heavy and time pressures are real.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen:

Online platforms for filing, case management, and hearings (e-litigation and ODR)
Digital justice systems like Saudi Arabia’s Najiz, which centralizes more than 130+ judicial services (lawsuit filing, execution, real-estate services, powers of attorney, etc.) in one platform.

The AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator sits at the next layer of this evolution: not just digitizing the process, but using AI to analyze the case and propose a draft decision that a human arbitrator can adopt or change.

2. What Exactly Is the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator?

2.1 Scope: which cases does it cover?

The AI Arbitrator is not a general-purpose AI judge. As of late 2025, it is limited to: Two-party construction disputes

Documents-only cases (no live witnesses)
Smaller cases where speed and efficiency are especially important

Parties must opt in; if either side prefers traditional arbitration, the case follows normal AAA procedures.

2.2 How the AI Arbitrator works (human-in-the-loop)

AAA explains the AI Arbitrator as a four-step, human-centered process: Parties submit claims and evidence

Parties confirm that the AI has correctly summarized their submissions
The AI Arbitrator analyses the claims, evidence, and relevant law and then drafts a proposed award with reasoning and record citations
An AAA-trained human arbitrator reviews, revises if needed, and issues the final award

In other words:

The AI drafts; the human arbitrator decides and is fully accountable for the outcome.

2.3 What is the AI trained on?

For its initial launch, the AI Arbitrator was: Developed with Quantum Black, AI by McKinsey

Trained on more than 1,500 construction arbitration awards
Refined using input from human arbitrators and construction practitioners

This makes it a domain-specific model for construction disputes, not a generic chatbot.

2.4 Governance: AAAi standards for responsible AI

AAA has published a set of AI governance principles (often called the AAAi Standards for AI in ADR) that emphasize:

Ethical & human-centered values: AI must support, not replace, human judgment
Privacy & security: Strong data protection and system resilience
Accuracy & reliability: Clear limits and human checks at key decision points
Explainability & transparency: Parties and arbitrators should understand how outputs are produced
Accountability & adaptability: Human responsibility, continuous monitoring and improvement

These principles frame how the AI Arbitrator is built and deployed.

3. Early Results: Time and Cost Savings

Rather than publishing exact “days” and dollar figures, AAA reports percentage improvements from early testing in documents-only construction disputes:

20-25% faster resolution times
35% or more cost savings compared with traditional documents-only arbitration

Independent law firm analyses describe the AI Arbitrator as targeting roughly 30-50% cost savings and 25-35% time savings in appropriate cases, consistent with AAA’s ranges.

The key point: AAA is only claiming ranges, not specific fixed timelines or fees. Any concrete numbers beyond those ranges are illustrative, not official data.

4. Saudi Arabia’s Legal and Digital Transformation Context

4.1 Sharia-based legal system under reform

Saudi Arabia’s legal system is rooted in Islamic law (Sharia) and administered through a network of courts and specialized tribunals. Over the last decade, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has undertaken wide-ranging reforms to:

Standardize and streamline procedures
Shorten litigation timelines
Enhance transparency and investor confidence
Improve international rankings of the Saudi judiciary

4.2 Najiz: the digital backbone of judicial services

The Najiz platform is a cornerstone of Saudi digital justice. It:

Centralizes all MoJ services in one unified portal
Offers more than 134 services, including:
- Filing lawsuits and execution cases
- Accessing court hearing schedules and judgments
- Real-estate services (ownership transfer, mortgages, title updates)
- Powers of attorney, verification, and personal status services
Aims to standardize court procedures and speed up dispute resolution

MoJ’s Vision 2030 initiative list also includes:

An Integrated Case Management System (full digital transformation of litigation procedures)
A Unified Translation Center for remote interpreting that supports remote interpreting across Saudi courts
A dedicated initiative for “Developing New Technologies and AI in the Judicial System”
E-litigation features, virtual courts, and data-driven judicial management

4.3 SDAIA and the National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI)

On the AI side, the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) leads the national agenda for Data & AI. Its National Strategy for Data & AI (NSDAI) aims to:

Position Saudi Arabia among the top 15 countries in AI by 2030
Invest billions of dollars in AI, data infrastructure, and skills
Train tens of thousands of AI specialists
Create a regulatory environment based on responsible AI and international best practice

In short: Saudi has digital courts and a national AI strategy, but AI-powered adjudication itself is still at an early, exploratory stage. Additionally, Any AI-based ADR system would also require coordination with the SCCA, NCA, and CITC to ensure compliance with arbitration, data, and cybersecurity regulations.

5. How an AAA-Style AI Arbitrator Could Be Adapted for Saudi Arabia (Hypothetical)

Important: What follows is conceptual. To date, there is no public indication that the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator has been deployed in Saudi Arabia. This section explores what adaptation could look like in the future, drawing on AAA’s model and Saudi policy directions.

5.1 Legal and cultural alignment with Sharia

Any AI arbitrator in Saudi Arabia would need to:

Respect Sharia principles and the Kingdom’s legislative framework
Be trained or tuned on Saudi judgments, regulations, and contractual practice (in Arabic)
Reflect local standards of fairness, public order, and commercial custom

AAA’s human-in-the-loop design and ethical AI standards are conceptually compatible with Sharia’s emphasis on justice, accountability, and human responsibility, but the underlying models and rules would need local calibration.

5.2 Language and data

Arabic is the primary language of Saudi courts. For an AI arbitrator to work in that context, it would require:

Strong Arabic NLP for contracts, pleadings, and judicial decisions
Secure access to local legal datasets (judgments, regulations, model contracts)
Data governance aligned with Saudi data and AI policies under SDAIA and MoJ’s data management initiatives.

5.3 Technical and institutional infrastructure

Saudi Arabia already runs large-scale digital systems (Najiz, e-litigation, unified translation, integrated case management). Building an AI arbitrator on top of that would require:

High-performance compute and secure cloud infrastructure
Robust cybersecurity and incident response
Clear allocation of responsibility between MoJ, SDAIA, and any ADR institutions

6. Benefits and Challenges for Saudi Arabia

6.1 Potential benefits

If a Saudi-specific AI arbitrator were developed along AAA-style lines, potential gains could include:

Faster resolution of suitable cases (e.g., lower-value, documents-only commercial or construction disputes)
Lower costs for businesses and individuals, freeing up court capacity
More consistent reasoning, where the model surfaces analogous cases and standardizes how certain issues are analyzed

These benefits mirror the time and cost savings AAA reports in its early AI Arbitrator tests.

6.2 Key challenges

At the same time, Saudi policy-makers and legal professionals would need to address:

Regulatory fit: Ensuring any AI arbitrator complies with Saudi legislation, Sharia principles, and Vision 2030 justice goals
Ethics and trust: Avoiding bias, ensuring explainability, and preserving human accountability, concerns that AAA and many international commentators explicitly highlight.
Public and professional acceptance: Convincing litigants, lawyers, and judges that AI is a tool, not a replacement for human justice
Data protection and sovereignty: Making sure training data and AI processing respect national data rules and sensitives

7. FAQ

Q1. What is the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator, in simple terms?

It’s an AI-enabled arbitration option for two-party, documents-only construction disputes. The AI reviews the parties’ submissions, applies domain-specific legal reasoning, and drafts a proposed award. A human AAA-trained arbitrator then reviews, can revise, and ultimately issues the final binding award.

Q2. Is the AI making decisions on its own?

No. AAA stresses that every case has a human arbitrator, and no decision is made solely by AI. AI is an analytical tool; human judgment and accountability remain central.

Q3. What time and cost savings has AAA reported?

Early testing for documents-only construction disputes shows:

20-25% faster case resolution
35% or greater cost savings

Other analyses describe expected savings in the 30-50% cost and 25-35% time range for appropriate cases.

Q4. Is the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator used in Saudi Arabia today?

Publicly available information does not indicate that the AAA-ICDR AI Arbitrator is currently deployed in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is, however, investing heavily in digital justice (Najiz, e-litigation, MoJ initiatives) and national AI strategy (NSDAI, SDAIA), so similar concepts may eventually be explored locally.

Q5. How could AI improve dispute resolution for Saudi users?

For suitable cases (especially lower-value, documents-only disputes), AI could:

Reduce waiting times for decisions
Lower costs for parties
Provide clearer, more structured reasoning
Help judges and arbitrators manage caseloads more effectively

But this would require robust AI governance, Sharia-compliant design, and public transparency to maintain trust.