Far from being labor-saving, this in fact adds to officials' workloads, as they are having to review ever longer texts and also fact-check often inaccurate AI-generated references.

Some of these inaccuracies can prove embarrassing, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.

For example, in February this year, the second-tier Tartu Circuit Court found in a criminal case that a defense attorney had cited several Supreme Court rulings in an appeal. However, the precedents cited by the lawyer, appointed by the state, either did not exist or stated something entirely different from that which was claimed.

This corner-cutting cost the lawyer, however, as the court concluded that the text had been generated by AI, and the defense attorney's fee was reduced by as much as two-thirds.

State Prosecutor General Astrid Asi says that the AI footprint is becoming increasingly noticeable within the judicial system.

"AI is being used to draft procedural documents, with the outcome that these documents are simply getting much longer. Since it is so easy to generate volume and to add various references and justifications, this is unfortunately being used. It is not uncommon for courts to receive applications that are 50 or 60 pages long," Asi said.

Local governments too have been struggling with lengthy AI-generated texts. For instance, when the Põhja-Pärnumaa Municipality was dealing with wind farm planning applications a year ago, they suddenly began receiving extremely extensive submissions, which held up the entire process.

"Planning processes have their deadlines, but we cannot go ahead if we haven't responded to people's opinions. And if we essentially have to respond to hundreds and hundreds of AI-generated questions, this takes an enormous amount of time, and other matters simply grind to a halt. If someone's goal is to derail something or to flood us with submissions, then it is no longer a fair fight," said municipality head Madis Koit.

Gerli Lehe, head of another municipality, Rae, just outside Tallinn, confirmed residents' letters have also become longer there too. At the same time, an experienced municipal official can easily recognize an AI-generated letter.

"Formatting references, unusual dashes, the way headings are used," she cited as examples of tell-tale signs.

"The wording typical of AI can be observed, and in some cases AI generates paragraphs from different laws that may not correspond to reality. In such cases, our officials have to check everything line by line when such letters arrive," Lehe said.

Koit added that, out of curiosity, the municipality has even looked at how AI itself would respond to AI-generated submissions. "Generally, we respond ourselves. It's true that officials also occasionally use AI to search for or compile information, and I think that's perfectly fine. But in the end, a human still has to review it and adapt it as needed," Koit said.

The prosecutor's office also has a test group experimenting with AI capabilities, with a view to it being used as a tool, but not as an end in itself and not excluding a pair of human eyes at some point along the process.

"Our approach is that the final decision always remains with a human being. AI can assist us, perhaps analyze materials or draft a response, but responsibility for the final text still lies with an individual. Responses are always reviewed by a prosecutor and issued with the prosecutor's signature," Asi noted.

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