No Industry Seems Untouched by the AI Avalanche – Where Does AI Stand With ADR? Or Better Asked, Where Does ADR Stand With AI?

Screenshot from AAA AI Arbitrator Website

By Marina Rastorfer

Most discourses, no matter the field of interest, tend to have a catchphrase or a keyword that routinely gets applied – ‘human-centered’ seems to be the en vogue term circulating the discussions on AI and its use across different vocations. Particularly with regard to the use of AI and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), an emphasis is made by numerous institutions to communicate with the public that the AI tools being used are not without human oversight. The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is no different and as a leading figure in the field of ADR and, recently, AI, the AAA and the International Center for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) rolled-out the ‘AI arbitrator’ in November, 2025.^[1] Limited to construction cases for now, the implementation of AAA’s AI tool does beg the question of whether this tool will be used in other fields beyond construction such as art law disputes and, if so, will other ADR institutions follow suit?

Art law disputes already have an ADR bandwagon for settling claims outside of litigation in favor of more adaptable, cost-efficient, time-saving, and tailored resolution mechanisms that allow for different claimants to be heard who may be barred from litigating their claims due to procedural limitations. Now, whether these complementary sounding adjectives are realized in ADR resolutions is another topic on its own. However, the premise remains, if ADR mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration are in fact in common usage for art law disputes, is it a given that AI tools will soon be, or have to be, integrated given the general direction that AI usage is taking in the field of ADR and beyond?