A man behind a company that planned to have an artificial intelligence help defend a traffic ticket in court has canceled his efforts after allegedly receiving threats from “multiple” state bar associations, adding that he was warned about jail time.
Joshua Browder, a British man and founder of the New York-based startup company DoNotPay, set out to help people contest smaller court disputes, such as traffic tickets, to use arguments in court generated by AI to help them win their cases.
The idea was devised to be simple in concept: A person challenging their ticket would put on smart glasses that record court proceedings while dictating responses to the defendant’s ear from earbuds or a small speaker. DoNotPay is relying on several applications that are based on OpenAI, including ChatGPT and DaVinci.
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DoNotPay promoted the idea as a personal courtroom helper based on its past work using AI-generated form letters to help people gain refunds for disputed bills and parking tickets. Its first legal defense case was slated to take place in California on Feb. 22.
Good morning! Bad news: after receiving threats from State Bar prosecutors, it seems likely they will put me in jail for 6 months if I follow through with bringing a robot lawyer into a physical courtroom. DoNotPay is postponing our court case and sticking to consumer rights:
— Joshua Browder (@jbrowder1) January 25, 2023
Browder tweeted Wednesday that “after receiving threats from State Bar prosecutors, it seems likely they will put me in jail for 6 months if I follow through with bringing a robot lawyer into a physical courtroom. DoNotPay is postponing our court case and sticking to consumer rights.”
The Washington Examiner previously spoke to Browder about his plan and technology and reached out to inquire which state bar associations allegedly threatened him over his plans. He told NPR that he is under investigation by multiple star bar associations, including in California.
Leah Wilson, the State Bar of California’s executive director, told the outlet that there’s been a rise in technology-based legal representation that has come to the forefront to fill a gap in affordable legal consultation.
“In 2023, we are seeing well-funded, unregulated providers rushing into the market for low-cost legal representation, raising questions again about whether and how these services should be regulated,” Wilson said.
Switching gears, Browder said in a tweet thread that he would be focusing DoNotPay on helping people handling medical bills and people dealing with issues such as credit reporting agencies and unwanted subscription bills.
Browder also said he would be “postponing” the AI operation, indicating he wasn’t yet willing to give up on his goal of getting an AI into a courtroom.
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He told the Washington Examiner his ultimate goal for DoNotPay was inspired by how the American Bar Association estimates that as much as 80% of the legal needs of low-income citizens go unmet.
“The legal system right now is pay-to-play. And so, we’re just making sure everyone is equal. It’s up to the judge to decide either way, how harsh or whether they’re guilty or not, or maybe a jury one day, if the case does get more sophisticated, but everyone at least deserves a defense,” Browder said.
