According to news reports, the increase in reliance on AI has led to a new condition called "AI psychosis" – where delusional thoughts are triggered or worsened by intense engagement with chatbots. This is playing out in the employment law world too, with reports of AI chatbots validating or amplifying unrealistic expectations in employment claims.
We are increasingly seeing employees use AI to draft grievances, as well as claims and submissions in Employment Tribunals. This can be problematic for a variety of reasons. In some cases, employees do not scrutinise the output generated, resulting in excessively long documents which contain errors, inconsistencies or irrelevant arguments. However, employers must still review and respond to each argument, without prejudging the issues. This adds to the costs and time spent on employment disputes. It can also lead to delays in the Tribunal process, with Tribunals having to wade through extensive correspondence. In addition, resolving disputes can become more difficult where an employee's position has been validated or amplified, without challenge, by a chatbot.
The issue also raises confidentiality concerns, with employees potentially inputting commercially sensitive information into public AI platforms to generate their arguments.
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