TechKnowmad
After threats of criminal charges and jail time were made, the first robot lawyer in the world decided not to represent a British citizen who was contesting a traffic ticket in court.
Joshua Browder, the chief executive of , developed the robot attorney. You might recall that a customer saved $120 by renegotiating a Comcast payment with AI chatbot last year.
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The defendant would need to wear smart glasses in court to for the proceedings to be recorded in order for the robot lawyer to function. The defendant would then receive instructions from the AI via the glasses about what to say when it is appropriate, with a little assistance from chatbots.
The robot lawyer was supposed to make its debut on February 22 in California, however due to interference from actual attorneys, the experiment was called off. As stated by Browder, “We’ve received threats from numerous state bar associations… One even stated that it would be feasible to prosecute and receive prison time after being reported to the district attorney’s office.”
The threat of prosecution, according to Browder, was predicated on the fact that the “unauthorised practise of law” is a misdemeanour that carries a potential jail sentence. The usage of the robot lawyer can be seen as unlawful practise because it is not licenced. Browder made the decision to forego moving forward because, “even if it wouldn’t happen, the fear of criminal charges was enough to give it up,”.
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Real attorneys will be sighing with relief as they continue to bill by the hour, but the win might only last a short while. There isn’t a lawyer that will get out of bed to help you with a $400 return, as Browder noted in a tweet(Opens in a new window), so the argument for inexpensive robot lawyers is undoubtedly compelling and won’t go away easily.