On 17 September 2025, the American Arbitration Association–International Centre for Dispute Resolution (“<span class="news-text_medium">AAA-ICDR</span>”) confirmed that it will introduce an AI arbitrator this November for documents-only construction disputes. The initiative is positioned as a means of delivering faster, more cost-efficient and reliable arbitration in a field where speed is particularly important due to the high volume of cases. Plans are underway to expand its use to other sectors, dispute types and higher-value claims in 2026.
The AI arbitrator has been trained on over 1,500 real construction arbitration awards and refined with input from experienced construction practitioners and members of the AAA-ICDR Construction Panel. To enhance clarity and consistency, the system relies on a structured legal prompt library and conversational AI, producing draft awards that are then reviewed by human arbitrators. Under this “human-in-the-loop” model, the human arbitrator retains final responsibility for assessing and, where necessary, amending the AI-generated award before it is issued.
Diana Didia, the AAA-ICDR’s executive vice president and chief technology and innovation officer, stressed that ethics and accountability were central to the design process, supported by strict governance standards, validation frameworks and collaboration with QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey.
This development follows earlier initiatives such as the AAAi Panellist Search tool launched in October 2024. However, the AI arbitrator marks a more ambitious step and is expected to draw close attention from practitioners and arbitral institutions worldwide.
Key questions remain: the scope of disputes eligible for the tool (likely cases under US $25,000), whether participation will be voluntary or mandatory and whether dissatisfied parties will have access to a human appellate mechanism. Most significantly, uncertainty lingers over whether an award generated through AI would be recognised and enforceable under the New York Convention or national arbitration laws.
