In an era defined by rampant disinformation and increasing geopolitical tensions, the work of Les Surligneurs and Siren Analytics takes on a crucial dimension. Through cutting edge technology, they are joining forces to promote legal transparency by automating the process of 'legal checking.'  

Les Surligneurs, a Paris-based group founded by law professors, draws inspiration from Margaret Hagan's legal design teachings at Stanford University. Their mission is to empower citizens to actively engage in public discourse through a legal lens. They have developed a unique 'legal checking' methodology, which involves scrutinizing public and media statements for legal issues, bringing legal perspective to the forefront of various discussions.  

Siren Analytics, a Beirut-based tech company with a social impact focus, assists organisations in their digital transformation journeys. Their flagship product, Dalil, is an AI-powered platform that revolutionises news monitoring and verification. Dalil was showcased at the 2023 Paris Peace Forum and selected for its Scale-up Program, underscoring its potential to address the specific challenges of fact-checking in the MENA region.  

The collaboration between Les Surligneurs and Siren Analytics is a significant step forward. By integrating their legal expertise with Siren Analytics' technological capabilities, they are developing an AI model to automate the legal checking process. This tool will verify news and declarations in Arabic and French, ensuring alignment with international humanitarian law. With a focus on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a region often plagued by disinformation, this initiative promises to enhance transparency and accountability.  

The automation of legal checking involves employing natural language processing (NLP) to analyse text data. The AI model will be trained on an extensive legal dataset, enabling it to identify key legal concepts and terms relevant to international humanitarian law. This way, the platform can promptly detect potential legal discrepancies in public discourse, providing valuable insights to citizens and journalists alike.  

While NLP is central to this process, the challenges it poses cannot be overlooked. Natural language processing struggles with the intricate language of the law, requiring adaptation to recognise legal terminology accurately. However, ongoing advancements and the collaboration between legal and technical experts offer promising prospects for enhancing the accuracy and impact of automated legal checking.

With a product launch scheduled for September, the initiative is well-timed to address disinformation concerns. Les Surligneurs and Siren Analytics' collaboration empowers citizens to navigate the information landscape confidently, knowing that the news they encounter adheres to international legal standards. This innovative project sets a new standard for transparency and legal literacy, fostering an informed and engaged society capable of holding discourse to a higher standard.