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Artificial intelligence appears to be arriving in professional work in waves, with each wave making a different kind of office work faster. Claude Code was released in 2025 as a tool for software work, or coding. Today, data show software development and IT postings still roughly 30% below pre-pandemic levels, even as software-development postings trend upward. More recently, the pattern has moved into website and app design and parts of legal work, with major AI companies releasing tools to speed up routine office tasks.
The share of litigants going pro se in federal civil court is steadily rising alongside expanded use of AI. Recent research found self-represented filings rising from 11.6% in 2022 to 16.8% in 2025. Recent reporting has suggested that courts may become strained by AI-assisted lawsuits. In the criminal justice system, this may translate to more people in the system using AI to understand processes and interactions.
“As an engineer, I’ve just never had this much fun engineering. The tedious part, I don’t have to do.”
Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code, in a recent interview.
2,347
Latest tally of state prosecutor offices in America.
The U.K. announced plans to spend £750 million for a national AI supercomputer. (U.K. Government)
Virginia is asking for comment on an ethics opinion about spotting hallucinations in other lawyers’ filings. (Virginia State Bar)
About Plain Thinking
Grant Morgan is an attorney, former prosecutor and former Tribune Publishing reporter who covered Gary, Indiana, and Chicago’s northern suburbs. Plain Thinking covers AI and consequential technology affecting lawyers, police and courts.