Jurisprudential Reflections, Application Bottlenecks, and Functional Breakthroughs of Generative AI-Empowered Criminal Sentencing

随着生成式人工智能(AI)技术的迅速发展，刑事量刑领域的传统模式面临前所未有的变革与挑战。本研究探讨了生成式AI在刑事量刑中的应用及其法理反思，重点分析技术引入过程中的三个阶段：排斥期、审慎期和共生期。研究指出，在排斥期，司法系统因合法性真空和技术黑箱特性对AI持否定态度；在审慎期，AI被视为法官裁量的辅助工具，但仍面临数据偏见与角色错位的挑战；进入共生期后，AI与法官的协同决策逐步深化，但同时也引发了可解释性鸿沟与伦理失控等问题。为了突破这些瓶颈，研究提出了多项阶段性功能突破方案，强调通过构建沙盒验证机制、责任矩阵、双轨意见制度等措施，在技术和法律之间实现动态平衡，推动“可解释——可问责——可协同”的新型量刑流程的形成。本研究最终认为，只有通过细致的制度与技术协同创新，生成式AI才能有效服务于司法公正，推动司法系统向智能化、公正化和透明化的方向发展。With the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the traditional paradigm of criminal sentencing is undergoing unprecedented transformation and facing significant challenges. This study explores the application of generative AI in criminal sentencing, offering a jurisprudential critique while focusing on three distinct phases of technological integration: the phase of rejection, the phase of prudence, and the phase of symbiosis. The research observes that during the rejection phase, the judicial system adopts a negative stance towards AI due to a legitimacy vacuum and the opaque nature of algorithmic “black boxes.” In the phase of prudence, AI is introduced as an auxiliary tool to assist judicial discretion, yet struggles with data bias and misalignment of institutional roles. As the symbiotic phase emerges, the collaborative decision-making between AI and judges deepens, but new dilemmas also arise, including an explanatory gap and ethical lapses. To overcome these bottlenecks, the study proposes several staged functional innovations, such as the establishment of regulatory sandbox mechanisms, accountability matrices, and a dual-track opinion system. These measures aim to foster a dynamic balance between technology and law, facilitating the evolution of sentencing procedures towards explainability, accountability, and human-AI collaboration. Ultimately, the study contends that only through meticulous institutional and technological co-innovation can generative AI genuinely serve judicial justice and propel the legal system towards greater intelligence, fairness, and transparency.