World’s first ‘robot lawyer’
The plan was that the AI would run on a smartphone, listening in to the proceedings of the courtroom before instructing the defendant on what to say via an earpiece. The ‘robot lawyer’ was all set to defend a speeding ticket on its first day in court next month.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed by DoNotPay planned to advise a defendant during an entire court case, likely making it the first-ever case defended by an AI. The AI would run on a smartphone, listening in to the proceedings of the courtroom before instructing the defendant on what to say via an earpiece as reported by the New Scientist.
Plans have changed for DoNotPay, when CEO and founder Joshua Browder announced late last month that it would be "postponing" courtroom use, citing "threats from State Bar prosecutors." Further stating that, "Courtroom products are too controversial among lawyers and it put a target on our backs."
Some legal experts have voiced concerns over DoNotPay's plans to bring AI to the courtroom, saying it may be considered "unauthorized practice of law” or break rules on recording audio in a courtroom. Others have questioned how effective DoNotPay's tools are.
Chicago-based law firm Edelson has alleged the service is 'unlawful' and the company itself has 'substandard' legal documents and now a lawsuit has been filed. In a file published by the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco, the complainant said:
'Unfortunately for its customers, DoNotPay is not actually a robot, a lawyer, nor a law firm. DoNotPay does not have a law degree, is not barred in any jurisdiction, and is not supervised by any lawyer.'
Browder responded that ‘There’ll still be a lot of good lawyers out there who may be arguing in the European Court of Human Rights, but a lot of lawyers are just charging way too much money to copy and paste documents and I think they will definitely be replaced, and they should be replaced,’
The AI works as a legal assistant by asking the client what the legal problem is and finds a loophole which it then turns into a legal letter that it can send to the right institution or upload to a website.
In a promotional video, Browder explained that he came up with the idea when he began accumulating parking tickets, which he could not afford to pay. In the process he became ‘an expert’ on loopholes that would allow him to get out of paying the fines.
As a software engineer, Browder realized that the tedious and expensive process of appealing parking tickets could be automated and created a website to help people do the same.
‘The goal of this company is to make the $200 billion legal profession free for consumers,’ said Browder.
Last month, his company’s chatbot successfully negotiated with internet provider Comcast’s representatives to save $120 a year on an employee’s Internet bill.
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