World’s first robot lawyer, powered by artificial intelligence, is about to advise a defendant in a traffic infringement matter in a US court. The robot manufactured by the company DoNotPay utilizes AI to help consumers fight against large corporations and solve their problems, like beating parking tickets, appealing bank fees, and suing robocallers.
The AI robot lawyer provides arguments for the defendants in real time. According to Joshua Browder, CEO of DoNotPay, the robot runs on a smartphone and doesn’t address the court directly. Still, it listens to the arguments, collects data, and, using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, formulates legal advice for the defendants.
“On February 22nd at 1.30 PM, history will be made. For the first time, a robot will represent someone in a US courtroom. DoNotPay AI will whisper in someone’s ear exactly what to say. We will release the results and share more after it happens. Wish us luck!” Browder tweeted.
The robot lawyer is an alternative to the exorbitant fees lawyers can charge, with many people in need of defence unable to afford it, Browder pointed out. DoNotPay has agreed to pay the defendant’s fine if the robot lawyer loses the case. But if the robot wins the case, the company will prove that AI can successfully help customers in the courtroom.
How the robot lawyer works
Last year, DoNotPay introduced a bot that helps people reduce the cost of their bills without having to talk to customer service. In this case, it will help the client through a headset where the AI will listen via a smartphone to what is happening in the courtroom and give answers. The robot is built in such a way that it listens to conversations and gathers information. By taking advantage of AI technologies, the robot can respond appropriately to questions like “were you or someone you knew driving?” or “was it hard to understand the signage?”.However, using the robot as a lawyer is a complex process. For instance, the Supreme Court bans any electronic devices from being present in the courtroom while Court is in session.
“DoNotPay will pay any lawyer or person $1,000,000 with an upcoming case in front of the United States Supreme Court to wear AirPods and let our robot lawyer argue the case by repeating exactly what it says”, Browder tweeted in response to this prohibition. “We have upcoming cases in municipal (traffic) court next month. But the haters will say “traffic court is too simple for GPT.” So we are making this serious offer, contingent on us coming to a formal agreement and all rules being followed”.
DoNotPay also offers advice on consumer and worker rights in the UK and the US, including managing harassment in the workplace. In January, the company also launched a chatGPT extension that reads the Terms and Conditions, leases, and flags anything non-standard to all our customers. China was the first country to utilize AI technology in a courtroom.
