Geoffrey Vos Backs AI for Low-Value Civil Cases as England Courts Face 10% Claim Growth
Updated
Updated · WIRED · Oct 28
Geoffrey Vos Backs AI for Low-Value Civil Cases as England Courts Face 10% Claim Growth
1 articles · Updated · WIRED · Oct 28
Summary
Days before retiring as Master of the Rolls, Geoffrey Vos said AI should eventually help decide simpler civil disputes such as personal injury and low-value negligence claims, while human judges remain central in family and complex commercial cases.
Vos said he already uses Microsoft Copilot daily for administrative work—finding documents and summarizing material—but not for writing judgments, arguing technology can speed resolution and cut costs if adopted cautiously.
A 10% annual rise in county court claims is already testing the system, with Vos linking part of the increase to litigants using ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to draft filings and pursue possible legal claims.
The push comes despite mounting risks: lawyers have cited hallucinated cases, one UK practitioner recently lost a license in part over AI misuse, and courts face bogus claims and fabricated evidence such as deepfakes.
Vos said the boundary for AI adjudication should be set through public consensus and legislation, after broader debate over explainability, trust and access to justice.