From legal assistance to automated authority: a critical discourse analysis of generative AI in Indonesian digital legal services
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67490/ijll.v1i2.921Keywords:
access to justice, automated authority, critical discourse analysis, digital legal services, generative AIAbstract
Background: Indonesia’s expanding digital legal-service ecosystem has brought generative AI into public-facing legal assistance, yet its authority is increasingly produced through platform discourse before its professional, ethical, and regulatory boundaries are fully settled. Objective: This study aims to examine how generative AI is represented in Indonesian digital legal services and how such representation shifts AI from a tool of legal assistance toward a form of automated authority. Method: Using critical discourse analysis, this study analyses 27 publicly accessible documents consisting of platform pages, app descriptions, professional media articles, legal-policy documents, and regulatory-context materials. Results: Findings show that AI authority is constructed through professional research vocabulary, efficiency claims, innovation narratives, access-to-justice language, and references to regulatory accountability. Findings also indicate that users are positioned as self-service legal actors whose access to law is mediated by platform interfaces, automated summaries, guided consultation, and document-generation tools. Implication: Findings further reveal that accountability is unevenly articulated, with legal responsibility often dispersed across professionals, users, ethical soft regulation, data-protection discourse, and platform claims. Novelty: The novelty of this study lies in shifting Indonesian AI-law scholarship from adoption and regulation debates toward the discursive production of automated legal authority.
Downloads
References
[1] A. Alamsyah and H. Aryfiyanto, “Leveraging generative AI for public service innovation: A path to smart government in Indonesia,” Digital Government: Research and Practice, vol. 6, pp. 1–36, 2025, doi: 10.1145/3761820.
[2] R. Wadipalapa, R. Katharina, P. Nainggolan, S. Aminah, T. Apriani, D. Ma’rifah, and A. L. Anisah, “An ambitious artificial intelligence policy in a decentralised governance system: Evidence from Indonesia,” Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, vol. 43, pp. 65–93, 2024, doi: 10.1177/18681034231226393.
[3] H. A. Hakim, C. B. E. Praja, W. Setyaningrum, and D. Setiawati, “Smart Legal: Proposing artificial intelligence application to provide free legal aid in Indonesia,” E3S Web of Conferences, 2024, doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202450005004.
[4] A. Rozaq, R. Fitri, M. Akbar, M. H. Sumari, N. Khafiyya, I. Wardiah, and F. Sholihin, “Legal literacy in Indonesia: Leveraging semantic-based AI and NLP for enhanced civil law access,” E3S Web of Conferences, 2025, doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/202562203002.
[5] M. Q. D. Masithoh, H. A. Hakim, C. B. E. Praja, and B. T. Iswanto, “AI in law: How artificial intelligence is transforming the legal profession in Indonesia,” Justitia Jurnal Hukum, 2023, doi: 10.30651/justitia.v7i2.17832.
[6] A. Setiawan, R. Kusumaningtyas, A. Widyastuti, and I. H. Abdullah, “The urgency of legal profession regulation amidst the integration of artificial intelligence,” Lex Scientia Law Review, 2025, doi: 10.15294/lslr.v9i2.26448.
[7] D. Olivia, “Legal aspects of artificial intelligence on automated decision-making in Indonesia,” Lentera Hukum, 2020, doi: 10.19184/ejlh.v7i3.18380.
[8] S. Chandra, “Advocates of the future: Challenges and opportunities of robot lawyer in Indonesia,” International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 2023, doi: 10.47191/ijmra/v6-i12-76.
[9] I., Y. Prasanti, Y. Wailussy, W. N. P. Anastasia, W. P. C. Mulianingsih, S. M. Salsabila, S. H. A. Rusada, and S. D. Faradiva, “Reassessing the discourses on legal ethics in the age of AI in Indonesia: Prospects and obstacles,” Journal of Law, Social Science and Management, 2025, doi: 10.36685/jlssm.v2i2.1623.
[10] D. Setiaji, “Legal language and power: A critical discourse analysis of anti-corruption laws in Indonesia,” Indonesian Journal of Linguistics and Legal Discourse, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 13–21, 2026.
[11] Sadani, “Linguistic construction of justice: A pragmatic analysis of judges’ reasoning in Indonesian constitutional court decisions,” Indonesian Journal of Linguistics and Legal Discourse, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 31–40, 2026.
[12] M. F. Ramadhan, “Plain language in legal drafting: Challenges and opportunities in Indonesian regulatory reform,” Indonesian Journal of Linguistics and Legal Discourse, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 22–30, 2026.
[13] L. Cheng and X. Liu, “From principles to practices: The intertextual interaction between AI ethical and legal discourses,” International Journal of Legal Discourse, vol. 8, pp. 31–52, 2023, doi: 10.1515/ijld-2023-2001.
[14] P. Jacey and S. Yuniarti, “Artificial intelligence: Implementation in legal services (comparative study on China, United Stated and Indonesia),” Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2023, doi: 10.46254/ap03.20220354.
[15] R. I. Sitepu and N. A. Hasnda, “Analysis of the implementation of e-litigation with artificial intelligence approach in procedural justice and access to justice in pretrial proceedings,” Perspektif Hukum, 2024, doi: 10.30649/ph.v24i1.275.
[16] D. Hermawan and B. Pranawa, “The use of AI in legal case analysis and court outcome prediction: Opportunities, challenges and ethical implications,” Journal of Law, Society and Living Norms, 2025, doi: 10.66111/7de3e481.
[17] K. Terzidou, “Generative AI systems in legal practice offering quality legal services while upholding legal ethics,” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2025, doi: 10.2139/ssrn.5197274.
[18] D. Dikrurahman and A. Abdullah, “Regulating AI-generated content: A comparative study of digital rights and algorithmic accountability in Indonesia,” Advances in Social Humanities Research, 2025, doi: 10.46799/adv.v3i12.529.
[19] K. B. Kirana and W. Silalahi, “Tantangan regulasi kecerdasan buatan (AI) dalam perspektif hukum perlindungan data pribadi di Indonesia,” Cerdika: Jurnal Ilmiah Indonesia, 2025, doi: 10.59141/cerdika.v5i6.2711.
[20] Z. S. Zuwanda, A. F. Lubis, N. Solapari, M. S. Sakmaf, and A. Triyantoro, “Ethical and legal analysis of artificial intelligence systems in law enforcement with a study of potential human rights violations in Indonesia,” The Easta Journal Law and Human Rights, 2024, doi: 10.58812/eslhr.v2i03.283.
[21] U. Maskanah, “Artificial intelligence in civil justice: Comparative legal analysis and practical frameworks for Indonesia,” Jambura Law Review, 2025, doi: 10.33756/jlr.v7i1.27786.
[22] D. Satrio, A. Artaji, E. Fakhriah, and C. Yassine, “Integrating AI into small claims courts: Lessons from global practices for legal reform in Indonesia,” Journal of Law and Legal Reform, 2026, doi: 10.15294/jllr.v7i1.24028.
[23] N. Fairclough, “Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language,” Longman, 1995.
[24] T. A. van Dijk, “Discourse and power,” Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
[25] R. Wodak and M. Meyer, Eds., “Methods of critical discourse studies (3rd ed.),” SAGE, 2016.
[26] W. B. M. Setiyawan, “Forensic linguistic evidence in Indonesian courtrooms: A study of language use in criminal verdicts,” Indonesian Journal of Linguistics and Legal Discourse, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2026.
[27] M. Ansori, “Speech act strategies in police interrogation transcripts: Evidence from bahasa Indonesia investigative records,” Indonesian Journal of Linguistics and Legal Discourse, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 51–60, 2026.
[28] P. L. F. Dwany, “Language rights and legal identity: A sociolinguistic study of indigenous language representation in Indonesian law,” Indonesian Journal of Linguistics and Legal Discourse, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 41–50, 2026.
[29] D. P. B. Asri, I. Thaher, and R. Widayanti, “Artificial intelligence, legal culture, and the Indonesian formal legal system: Negotiating norms in the regulation of emerging technologies,” Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change, 2025, doi: 10.64753/jcasc.v10i3.2439.
[30] I. Kobayashi, “Institutional silence and LegalTech in Japan: A comparative inquiry into access to justice and the practice of law,” Law, Innovation and Technology, 2026, doi: 10.1080/17579961.2026.2633676.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Refai (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License