AI Is Bringing More Paperwork To Britain’s Bureaucratic System

🔍 Read the full analysis: AI Is Bringing More Paperwork To Britain’s Bureaucratic System on ThorstenMeyerAI.com

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A Sky News report published October 20 found that written complaints, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims have increased across several UK public services since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. The figures do not establish that AI caused the rise, but the report says the similar pattern across different channels is putting added pressure on public bodies whose processes depend on written submissions.

Sky News technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe compared changes in multiple complaint and claim channels. The report gives increases since ChatGPT’s launch of 144% for household complaints about water companies, 78% for complaints to English local authorities, and 71% for written complaints to GP practices. It also reports increases of 64% for complaints to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), 62% for individual employment tribunal claims, and 49% for complaints about legal services.

The reported increases vary by service: Sky News gives figures of 35% for written NHS complaints, 34% for complaints about police forces and 23% for complaints about public services. These are changes over the period since ChatGPT’s launch, not proof that AI produced the submissions or caused the underlying disputes. The report notes that each area has its own circumstances; water companies, for example, have faced difficult recent years.

Manthorpe also tested 100 recent Freedom of Information requests with an AI-text detector. It labelled 89% as fully AI-written and 9% as human, while a smaller sample from 2019 was labelled entirely human. Sky News cautioned that the test is not conclusive: AI detectors can be unreliable, and the result cannot show that AI caused the broader rise in requests.

Pressure on Written Public Services

The figures matter because many government and public-service processes still ask people to explain a problem, make a case or appeal in writing. If AI tools reduce the time and confidence needed to submit those documents, authorities may face more work even where their underlying services and rules have not changed. More submissions can mean longer queues for staff and people seeking decisions.

But an increase in volume is not the same as an increase in baseless claims. The report says the DWP’s share of complaints upheld has dropped from somewhere in the 50s to close to 40%. Even with a lower success rate, a larger total could still mean a greater number of upheld complaints. Researcher Chris Schmitz, discussing cases across jurisdictions, said most people in the cases he reviewed were claiming something they were entitled to claim. The reporting therefore points to a two-sided issue: added administrative workload may coincide with more people accessing valid routes of redress.

That distinction shapes the policy choice. Raising barriers could reduce submissions, but may also deter people with legitimate complaints. Updating processes to handle information in a more structured form could address workload without relying on people to compose lengthy essays.

From ChatGPT to Automated Claims

According to Sky News, Freedom of Information request numbers had changed little for more than a decade before beginning to rise after late 2022. The report describes a similar shape across several unrelated channels: years of relatively flat numbers, followed by a gradual increase and then faster growth. The timing is suggestive, but other developments may also affect individual services, and correlation does not establish cause.

The Information Commissioner’s Office issued guidance in May on AI-generated Freedom of Information requests after public authorities reported higher volumes and more complicated submissions. The ICO’s position, as described in the report, is that an AI-written request remains a valid request. Authorities do not have to determine whether a person or an AI wrote it, though they may ask for clarification if it is poorly formed or unclear.

The report also points to possible growth beyond people using chatbots to draft letters. AI agents can take actions on a person’s behalf, including preparing and submitting requests. Sky News demonstrated an agent service from Meta. The change could make routine actions, such as challenging a parking ticket or claiming rail-delay compensation, easier to initiate at scale.

“It’s like being bombarded with correspondence at speed.”

— Civil servants surveyed in research cited by Sky News

Cause and Claim Quality

The report identifies a timing pattern, not a definitive causal link. The complaint increases may reflect a mix of AI-assisted writing, changes in service quality, public awareness, policy changes and other factors. The source material does not provide the underlying counts or complete methods for every channel, so the reported percentage changes should not be read as a direct measure of AI’s contribution.

The detector test also cannot establish authorship with certainty. Its results are a small sample, and the report itself warns that AI-text detection is unreliable. Nor does a submission’s use of AI establish whether the complaint is accurate, justified or eligible for a remedy. The civil-servant survey figure—58% saying AI-generated public content significantly affects their work—describes respondents’ reported experience, not a count of AI-written documents across government.

It remains unclear how much of the recent workload is caused by AI, whether current increases will continue, and how different public bodies will change their processes. The source material also does not give a settled government-wide plan for responding.

Redesigning the Application Process

The immediate policy question is whether agencies respond by adding friction to submissions or by changing how they collect and process information. Loosemore has argued for services built around structured data rather than essays, and warned that efforts to block AI-written submissions could become an arms race as tools adapt. The source material does not say that government has adopted this approach.

Public authorities will continue to apply existing rules for complaints and information requests, including the ICO guidance on valid FOI submissions and requests for clarification. The next signs to watch are whether agencies publish updated procedures, whether complaint and claim volumes keep rising, and whether officials can distinguish genuine administrative pressure from changes in the number of people exercising existing rights. For now, the available figures show a broad increase, while the scale of AI’s role and the best response remain unsettled.

Key Questions

What did the Sky News report find?

It reported increases since ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch across several written channels, including complaints to public bodies, Freedom of Information requests and employment tribunal claims. The report does not establish that AI caused the increases.

Does the report prove that AI caused more complaints?

No. The timing and similar patterns across channels are consistent with AI making it easier to write submissions, but the report says the evidence is not conclusive. Other factors may affect each service.

Are AI-written Freedom of Information requests valid?

According to the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance described by Sky News, an AI-written request is still valid. Authorities do not need to determine who or what wrote it, and can seek clarification when the request is unclear.

Does a rise in complaints mean most are unfounded?

No. A higher number of submissions does not show that they lack merit. Sky News reports that the proportion of DWP complaints upheld has fallen to close to 40%, but the larger volume may still produce more upheld complaints in absolute terms.

What changes might public services make?

One proposal from Tom Loosemore is to use structured data instead of relying on lengthy written explanations. The source material does not describe a government-wide decision to make that change.

Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com