"George Clooney and Microsoft’s TrialWatch hopes to put a spotlight on injustice", 25 Apr 2019

Microsoft and The Clooney Foundation for Justice unveiled the TrialWatch app on Thursday during an event at Columbia University — a new tool in CFJ’s ongoing effort to shine a light on injustice in courts around the globe... Amal [Clooney], a Lebanese-British lawyer and co-president of the foundation [said]: “Without the fair administration of justice, it is not possible to hold the powers that be to account. There can be no democracy, no freedom of speech, no safety for minorities."..., TrialWatch...aims to monitor [t]rials that oppress vulnerable groups, silence speech, or target political opponents... The new app augments the ability of TrialWatch’s monitors, making it easier to document happenings in a courtroom. It offers a platform to record audio and take pictures of people and documents, which are then uploaded to the cloud. Microsoft’s A.I. can do speech-to-text translation, simplifying the job of documenting a trial. And once in the cloud, A.I. can translate that text so that experts around the globe can analyze it, regardless of language... Microsoft President Brad Smith [said] [t]echnology is one of the most powerful tools dictators can use - and...TrialWatch aim[s] to hit the problem square on the nose...