Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant conversation for Arizona’s justice system.
It is here – and Arizona’s courts are taking a deliberate approach to figuring out what that means.
On August 27, 2026, the Arizona Supreme Court declined a request to temporarily prohibit judges from using generative artificial intelligence in their core judicial work. Instead, the Court chose to continue a careful, controlled approach to testing AI while developing appropriate safeguards and standards.
But the Court drew an important line: AI cannot make legal rulings or judicial decisions. Decision-making remains a human responsibility.
That distinction may be especially important in family law.
Arizona Is Taking a Deliberate Approach to AI
Arizona has been examining the role of artificial intelligence in its courts for several years.
Following an AI summit in 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court established the Arizona Steering Committee on Artificial Intelligence and the Courts to study the responsible implementation and ethical use of AI within the judicial system. The Committee continues to advise the judiciary as the technology develops.
Arizona has already adopted guardrails for AI use in the courts. The state also adopted a judicial-conduct rule requiring judges to understand the benefits and risks of technology, including AI, well enough to use it responsibly.
And this isn’t happening only at the state level.
In March 2024, Maricopa County Superior Court Presiding Judge Joseph Welty created a court-wide Artificial Intelligence Committee to help the court navigate the emerging technology. A subsequent filing with the Arizona Supreme Court described the committee as including members from across the court system.
The message is clear: Arizona’s courts aren’t ignoring AI. They’re trying to understand it, establish appropriate boundaries, and determine where it can genuinely improve the justice system.
That is a worthwhile effort.
But it raises another question.
What Can AI Do for Families?
There are obvious possibilities.
AI can help people organize information, explain complicated concepts in plain language, assist with administrative tasks, and potentially make certain court processes more efficient.
Maricopa County already provides extensive online resources designed to help people navigate family court, including forms, instructions, workshops, tutorials, and other self-help resources.
Technology can make information easier to find.
But information isn’t the same thing as understanding, and understanding isn’t the same thing as skill.
That distinction matters enormously in family court.
A Parenting Plan Is Not a Parenting Skill
Maricopa County’s Family Department handles cases involving divorce, legal decision-making, parenting time, child support, and other matters affecting families and children.
For parents involved in these cases, the court can establish legal decision-making authority and parenting time. The court can provide forms, instructions, resources, and referrals.
Maricopa County also requires many parents involved in divorce, legal separation, or paternity cases to complete a Parent Information Program, which is specifically designed to educate parents about their children’s experiences during these difficult transitions.
All of these resources serve an important purpose.
But there is something they cannot do for a parent:
They cannot have the difficult conversation for them.
They cannot help a parent recognize when a disagreement is becoming a conflict.
They cannot teach someone how to communicate with a co-parent when emotions are high.
They cannot help a parent understand what a child may experience when moving between two homes.
And they cannot replace the judgment required to ask, “What is going to be healthiest for my child?”
Those are human skills.
The Human Element May Be the Most Important Technology Can’t Replace
This is where the conversation about AI and parent education intersect.
As Arizona’s courts consider how technology can make the justice system more efficient and accessible, we should also be asking whether families have access to the human education and practical skills they need to successfully navigate life after court.
A computer can help a parent find a parenting-time schedule.
A parenting educator can help that parent understand how to make the schedule work in real life.
A computer can explain what legal decision-making means.
Education can help a parent understand how to make decisions with another parent without turning every disagreement into another legal dispute.
A computer can generate words.
It cannot teach a parent when those words will escalate conflict (or when saying less would be better.)
Innovation and Humanity Don’t Have to Compete
The answer isn’t to resist AI.
Arizona’s courts have chosen a more thoughtful approach: test it, monitor it, establish safeguards, and keep humans responsible for the decisions that matter.
That philosophy can extend beyond the courtroom.
We can embrace technology while recognizing its limits.
We can make legal information easier to access while continuing to invest in education.
We can improve court efficiency while remembering that family cases aren’t simply legal problems to be processed. They involve children, parents, relationships, emotions, and families who will continue interacting long after the case is closed.
The future of family court may be more technological.
But the goal should never be to make family law less human.
Because when the case involves a child, the most important work often begins where the court order ends.
Arizona Family Court Resources
Looking for additional information and support? The following Arizona and Maricopa County resources can help families navigate the legal system and find parenting education and court-related resources.
A particularly useful resource for self-represented parents. FLAP provides assistance to people representing themselves in family-law matters, including appointments with volunteer family-law attorneys at Maricopa County Superior Court locations.
A nonprofit connected with ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law that provides free legal consultations to Arizona residents, including assistance with family-law matters.
A statewide network connecting survivors with legal aid attorneys, volunteer attorneys, and legal advocates. This is an important resource to include whenever we’re discussing family court and co-parenting because parent education should never be presented as a substitute for safety planning or legal assistance in cases involving abuse.
A statewide resource for connecting Arizona residents with local health and human-service programs. It’s a nice catch-all resource for readers who may need help beyond the legal system.
Online classes designed to help parents navigate separation, divorce, co-parenting, communication, and the challenges children may experience during family transitions.
