11% to 17% in Three Years — And the Line Matches ChatGPT’s Launch Perfectly
MIT researcher Anand Shah and USC colleague Avi Shah published a study in March 2026 that should make every court administrator reach for antacids. Analysing millions of administrative records, they found that self-filed lawsuits — known in legalese as “pro se” filings — spiked from a “long-term steady-state average of 11 percent” to nearly 17 percent by the end of 2025. The study excludes filings by incarcerated people.
The timing is not subtle. The uptick begins in late 2022, right after ChatGPT launched. The Washington Post compiled the data into a chart that shows the self-filing rate climbing in lockstep with ChatGPT adoption — a correlation that, while not proof of causation, is about as close as social science gets.
As Shah told the Post: “Every system that has decreased cost to entry from AI should expect increased demand.”
That’s the polite version. The blunt version: AI didn’t democratise justice. It democratised litigation.
🔍 THE BOTTOM LINE
AI chatbots made it trivially easy to file lawsuits. The data shows a clear spike in self-represented filings tracking ChatGPT adoption. Courts aren’t built for this volume, and the people who suffer most are the ones who can least afford it.
What’s Actually Happening in Courtrooms
It’s not just that more people are filing. It’s that AI-generated legal documents are, to put it diplomatically, terrible.
Lawyers report AI-armed litigants flooding courts with massive piles of machine-generated filings — often nonsensical, sometimes citing cases that don’t exist, and always requiring the opposing side to spend time and money responding. Client bills that started in the thousands are ballooning into tens of thousands as lawyers have to address AI-generated motions point by point.
This isn’t a victimless flood. Every hour a judge spends on a badly AI-generated filing is an hour they’re not spending on a genuine case. Every dollar a defendant spends responding to a fabricated claim is a dollar they don’t have for their defence. The court system was already slow. AI is making it slower.
The Pro Se Paradox
Self-representation is an important right. Historically, the overwhelming majority of people who represented themselves in court did so out of financial necessity — they couldn’t afford a lawyer. The system was designed to accommodate that.
But AI-generated pro se filings change the economics. Filing a lawsuit used to require either money (for a lawyer) or extraordinary effort (for a self-filed case that met procedural standards). AI removes the effort barrier without adding the quality barrier. The result is more filings, not better access to justice.
Some people have genuinely benefited. NBC News reported cases of individuals successfully using AI tools to navigate small claims and family court proceedings they couldn’t otherwise afford. The technology can be a legitimate equaliser — when it’s used for genuine claims with genuine evidence.
The problem is that the same technology that helps one person file a legitimate small claim also helps another person file 47 frivolous motions in a week.
The Numbers That Matter
- 11% → 17%: Self-filed lawsuit rate, 2022 to end of 2025 (MIT/USC study)
- ChatGPT launch: November 2022, when the spike begins
- Cost impact: Lawyers reporting client bills rising from thousands to tens of thousands when opposing AI-generated filings
- Case duration: Not yet measurably increased (the system is absorbing the shock — for now)
- Fabricated citations: AI-generated legal documents routinely cite non-existent cases, a problem courts are still developing tools to detect
What This Means for NZ
New Zealand’s court system already struggles with capacity. The District Court has a backlog measured in months, not weeks. If AI-generated filings follow the same pattern here — and there’s no reason to think they won’t, given ChatGPT’s widespread NZ adoption — the impact could be more severe per capita than in the US, simply because NZ has fewer judges and fewer courtrooms.
NZ doesn’t have a formal pro se system equivalent to the US, but self-represented litigants in the Disputes Tribunal and Family Court are common. The barrier to filing in NZ is already lower than in the US. AI lowers it further.
The Ministry of Justice hasn’t publicly addressed AI-generated filings yet. Given the pace of the problem, they may not have much time before it becomes a live issue.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is ChatGPT directly causing the spike? The study shows a strong correlation between ChatGPT adoption and the self-filing spike. It can’t prove every additional filing used AI, but the timing, magnitude, and pattern are consistent with AI reducing the cost and effort of filing lawsuits.
Q: Are AI-generated lawsuits always bad? No. Some people have used AI to successfully represent themselves in genuine cases they couldn’t afford to bring otherwise. The problem is volume and quality — AI makes it easy to file both legitimate and frivolous claims, and courts have no quick way to distinguish between them.
Q: What can courts do about this? Options include: requiring disclosure of AI assistance in filings, developing AI detection tools for court clerks, establishing faster dismissal procedures for clearly AI-generated nonsense filings, and increasing filing fees (which would disproportionately affect legitimate self-represented litigants). None are ideal.
Q: Has NZ seen AI-generated filings yet? No public data exists, but given ChatGPT’s penetration in NZ, it’s likely only a matter of time. The NZ Law Society has flagged AI in legal practice as an emerging issue but hasn’t published specific guidance on AI-generated filings.
🔍 THE BOTTOM LINE
AI made filing a lawsuit as easy as writing an email. The data shows exactly what you’d expect: more filings, more nonsense, more cost for everyone involved. The court system wasn’t built for this, and the people who’ll suffer most are the ones who can least afford to wait — not the AI enthusiasts flooding the docket.
SOURCES
- Futurism — MIT Expert Warns Courts “Will Basically Have to a Halt” as They’re Overwhelmed by AI-Generated Lawsuits
- MIT / USC Study — Pro Se Automation (March 2026)
- Washington Post — Data shows AI slop is taking over books, lawsuits, music, science
- Bloomberg — How ChatGPT and Claude Are Fueling a DIY Lawsuit Boom in US Courts
