Artificial intelligence is becoming omnipresent in the legal industry, with recent developments coming out of the US reading like a cross between science fiction and courtroom drama. An AI-powered bot was set to advise two people appearing in court in February on speeding charges, until its company CEO announced last week he’d been threatened with jail time if the app was used in court.
The “robot lawyer” app, DoNotPay, makes use of automation to provide free legal consultation for its users. Along with contesting speeding tickets, the app offers advice on a range of issues, including car registration renewals, divorce settlements, filing for bankruptcy, inflation pay requests and even finding lost pets.
DoNotPay’s CEO Joshua Browder had previously stated that the defendants in February’s trial would receive advice from the app in real time. The app would follow the trial arguments, draw conclusions and craft responses for the defendants so they could defend themselves. Neither the names of the clients nor the courts they’re due to appear in have been disclosed. DoNotPay had previously said it was ready to cover any legal expenses and penalties imposed if it didn’t win the cases.
But Browder claimed in a Tweet last week that he would likely face six months jail time if he took the robot lawyer into a physical courtroom, referencing “threats from State Bar prosecutors.” DoNotPay will postpone the court case and keep its focus on consumer rights — including lowering medical bills, canceling subscriptions and disputing credit reports, he added.
The February trial was set to be the first time DoNotPay’s AI bot would be used in court for live counseling. In most US states, this type of technology is banned from court rooms. Browder has previously said that his company is on a mission to make legal services more available and affordable, especially to those of limited financial means. The company has raised over USD 27 million in funding, with participation from venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Crew Capital, and was valued at USD 210 million as of mid-2021.