It has been more than five years since the Courts last discussed the use of AI in public decision-making. That was in R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police (Information Commissioner and others intervening) [2020] 1 WLR 5037). In the universe of AI, five years is a mind-bendingly long time. Can we even remember a time before hallucinated authorities and lonely teenagers falling in love with chatbots? Many of us have been waiting with bated breath for the next word on how the Administrative Court will constrain public authorities’ use of AI.
After that long wait, we have been given R (Thompson and Carlo) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2026] EWHC 915 (Admin).