Chris Schmitz: AI spurs global 'agentic flooding' in public services
Public service systems around the world are seeing a big jump in requests, as AI tools make it easier for people to fill forms and file complaints without the usual hassle.
researcher Chris Schmitz calls this surge "agentic flooding," and says it's giving more people, especially those who struggled before, a real shot at getting their voices heard.
As Schmitz puts it, "This could be the moment to say, 'we need to rethink pretty much everything about how this process looks.'"
Complaints and petitions surge globally
The U.K.'s housing ombudsman saw complaints shoot up from 2,600 in 2022 to more than 7,000 by 2025.
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saw 5x growth in complaints over the same period.
Brazil and Germany also reported big increases in Brazilian judicial petitions and German parliamentary petitions, showing this trend isn't just local: it's global.