Summary

The Chancellor of the High Court said judges in England and Wales now have access to two approved secure AI systems and are already using them for bounded work such as transcription experiments, anonymized judgments, draft-consistency checks, and administrative search. At the same time, the speech draws a sharp legal boundary: lawyers and litigants cannot assume that interactions with public AI systems are confidential, and open-tool use can jeopardize privilege.

Why It Matters

This is a strong direct legal workflow record because it moves beyond generic caution.

  • it confirms that a major judiciary has shifted from "do not use public AI" to "use only approved secure AI," which is a materially different operational posture
  • it identifies concrete bounded judicial tasks where AI is already being used or tested, including anonymization, transcription, and internal consistency review
  • it connects AI use directly to privilege and confidentiality doctrine, which matters to lawyers deciding whether AI can safely touch client material
  • it also flags how AI is changing court-facing practice for unrepresented litigants, whose filings may now be clearer but longer and harder to manage

What the Source Says

The April 24, 2026 speech says the judiciary now has two secure AI systems it considers acceptable for court use: a secure form of Microsoft Copilot available to judges in England and Wales, and a separate in-house system developed with HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice. Birss says the Judicial College has provided online guidance, a Copilot prompt library, and training focused on deepfakes. He then gives four concrete examples: exploring AI for in-house transcription, using AI to suggest anonymization candidates in judgments, checking draft judgments for internal inconsistencies, and searching emails and files for administrative work. The speech also cites *UK v Secretary of State for the Home Department* [2026] UKUT 81 for the proposition that uploading confidential documents to an open-source AI tool can breach confidentiality and waive privilege.