'AI clog': UK public bodies battle onslaught of chatbot-generated complaints
2026-11-08
The Guardian
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UK public bodies, including local councils, courts, and MPs' offices, are experiencing operational disruption due to a surge in AI-generated complaints and requests. Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini enable users to easily produce complex, sometimes inaccurate correspondence, overwhelming staff and causing administrative backlogs.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event involves the use of AI systems (generative chatbots) to produce large volumes of correspondence that public bodies must process. This has directly led to operational disruption and increased workload, which qualifies as harm under category (b) "Disruption of the management and operation of critical infrastructure" (public bodies and government functions). The harm is realized and ongoing, not merely potential. The AI systems' role is pivotal as they generate the flood of correspondence causing the disruption. Therefore, this is an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information. It is not unrelated or beneficial use, as the AI is the source of the harm, not a countermeasure.[AI generated]