Supreme Court Blocks AI in Its Deliberations, Endorses Human Judgment

On May 11, 2026, the Supreme Court barred AI from its deliberative processes, upholding human judgment.

The Supreme Court's May 11 decision confirms that America’s highest court is not ready to let artificial intelligence participate in the process of reaching its judgments. The justices backed human reasoning—"despite potential errors"—as a core pillar of judicial deliberation.

• Justice P.S. Narasimha stated, "We are not suggesting people not to use AI. But we should have control over the information. Ultimately it is data that is filed before the court that will be used in the judgments. We want some responsibility to be fixed in this regard."
• The boundary set by the Supreme Court reflects ongoing judicial skepticism about removing the human element in decision-making. It follows a pattern established with the Court's March 2026 refusal in Thaler v. Perlmutter to recognize works without human authorship for copyright protection.
• Additionally, in April, the Court declined to review a challenge to casino hotel pricing algorithms, sidestepping a direct ruling on AI’s antitrust implications but again leaving lower-court suspicion of unchecked automation unchallenged.

For in-house counsel and legal tech providers, the message is clear: top-level courts are drawing sharp lines on how and where AI can be part of the judicial process, especially when human accountability is on the line.

Yes, but: The Court did not prohibit AI’s use in drafting judgments or filing petitions, leaving room for AI in other court functions.