A recent post on Reason highlights a forthcoming article by media lawyer Steve Zansberg, set to appear in the Fall 2026 issue of Communications Lawyer. The article reportedly examines whether conversations between government employees and AI systems are subject to public records requests under FOIA and state open-records laws.
The underlying question is straightforward but untested: when a public official asks an AI chatbot for advice or drafts text, does that exchange count as a government record? Zansberg's article appears to be one of the first serious legal treatments of the issue, though the Reason post does not summarize his conclusions.
Because the source only announces the article's existence, it is not possible to say how Zansberg resolves the question. The significance lies in the framing: as agencies adopt AI tools, courts and legislatures will eventually have to decide whether these interactions are transparent or shielded from public view.