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Is Your Robo Lawyer Breaking the Law?

Inside a controversial lawsuit over whether A.I. will tear the legal profession asunder.

Every job, in every sector, will be impacted by A.I. But the law, with high hourly rates for often straightforward and replicable tasks, seems very vulnerable.
Every job, in every sector, will be impacted by A.I. But the law, with high hourly rates for often straightforward and replicable tasks, seems very vulnerable. Photo: Andrey Popov/Dreamstime
Eriq Gardner
April 17, 2023

Earlier this year, amid the explosion of excitement surrounding ChatGPT, an intriguing A.I. startup called DoNotPay caught my eye. Founder Joshua Browder announced that he had created “the world’s first robot lawyer,” which would soon debut in court, whispering instructions through Bluetooth-connected AirPods to help users beat parking tickets. Then, suddenly, the experiment was canceled. Blaming “threats from State Bar prosecutors,” Browder pivoted to building a web plugin to help file complaints over everything from robocalls to unauthorized data collection.