‘Robot lawyer’ pulled out of courtroom after court protest

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It seems that the “robot lawyer” created by the startup may never reach the court.

Joshua Browder, CEO of consumer-help startup DoNotPay, said this morning that he has received threats of legal action from the state bar over plans to use an artificial intelligence chatbot called “Robot Lawyer” to defend a speeding ticket. in an unknown court. and postpones the matter.

Browder said that DoNotPay will “stick to the rights of consumers” by instead doing tasks it has typically been used for so far, such as disputing credit reports and canceling subscriptions.

DoNotPay first announced a scheme whereby an AI would debate a traffic case on January 4, promising to pay the defendant’s fines if the chatbot lost. The company said its robot lawyer would educate the defendant through the headset, which New Scientist says could break court rules in many jurisdictions.

Browder’s company said it found a loophole in one jurisdiction that could have allowed the headset to be used, allowing the device to be considered an assistive hearing aid.

DoNotPay did not disclose the location of the case. The California Bar Association was unable to confirm any investigation into DoNotPay’s plans, but said it had a duty to stop unauthorized legal practice.

“We routinely advise potential violators that they may face civil or criminal prosecution, which is entirely up to law enforcement,” California Chief Judicial Counsel George Cardona told The Standard.

Lawyers wary of the DoNotPay chatbot point out that the technology may contravene state and professional codes governing ethical legal practice. And this may portend further resistance to the booming use of artificial intelligence in business, education, the arts and other fields.

“In 2023, we are seeing well-funded, unregulated providers rush into the market for low-cost legal representation, again raising questions about whether and how these services should be regulated,” said Leah Wilson, executive director of State Bar.

According to a critique of the app by litigation paralegal Kathryn Tewson posted on TechDirt, using RobotLawyer to complete basic legal documents such as letters of demand and settlement agreements was actually slower than if it were done by real people using established legal research tools such as Westlaw.

“There is literally nothing AI about it. It’s a simple document creation wizard and not very well done,” Tewson writes in his assessment of Robot Lawyer.

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