TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Jan 26, 2023

New York-based startup DoNotPay, a legal chatbot created to contest parking tickets, has dropped plans to premiere its “robot lawyer” in court next month, NPR reports. CEO Joshua Browder had intended to use his AI system to help a defendant fight a parking ticket in court on Feb. 22. To do so, the defendant would wear smart glasses that both record court proceedings and dictate responses into the defendant's ear from a small speaker. The system relies heavily on AI text generator, ChatGPT, which recently made headlines for its performance on law school exams. Browder said he nixed plans for the courtroom debut after receiving a multitude of angry letters from bar associations in various states threatening legal action for possible unauthorized practice of law. "I think calling the tool a 'robot lawyer' really riled a lot of lawyers up," Browder said. "But I think they're missing the forest for the trees. Technology is advancing and courtroom rules are very outdated."