Institutionalization of innovation: the perception of actors in the Brazilian labor court with artificial intelligence

AI has been popularized and expanded in recent years by all sectors, including the public sector. The Brazillian judiciary has relevant projects in this regard, including regulations that encourage these applications. This study aims to analyze innovation in the judiciary from the perspective of Brazilian labor justice professionals, with reference to the institutionalization of the use of AI tools. In this sense, this study starts from recent references in the field of innovation applied to the judiciary, which, associated with an institutional approach, offers an interpretation of its institutionalization. Thus, it adds mechanisms of path dependence. Therefore, in a qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with nine selected actors of the courts to broaden the understanding of this phenomenon in practice. Content analysis show that the mechanisms of path dependence are relevant in understanding the institutionalization of innovation in the judiciary, adding the historical drag of the nature of the judiciary to contemporary decisions whose impacts have great repercussions.