An artificial intelligence (AI) lawyer is about to go down in history as the first AI to defend a defendant in court.
The world’s first “robot lawyer”, the bot will tell the defendant during the hearing how best to argue his case against a speeding ticket.
Created by startup DoNotPay, a chatbot will connect to a mobile phone and send hints through headphones to a respondent who agreed to only say what the AI tells him. The landmark case is intended as a test for DoNotPay services, and they will pay any fines incurred if the AI fails to win the case for the defendant.
While this may seem like the future of court hearings, there’s a catch – mobile phones and headphones are generally banned in courtrooms. However, according to the firm’s founder, Joshua Browder, the hearing will take place in a location that treats the headphones as “hearing aids,” allowing for the use of AI.
“It’s technically within the rules, but I don’t think it’s in the spirit of the rules,” Browder tells New Scientist.
DoNotPay was launched in 2015 as a chatbot designed to help consumers avoid paying fines and late payments, and has since moved to artificial intelligence following a technological breakthrough.
It has previously been used to help a customer out of a $16 bank fee using solely the AI chatbot, according to New Scientist, but the company states it has helped with 3 million cases in the UK and US. However, this will be the first time an AI has become a lawyer in the courtroom.
In October 2022, an AI made history by being the first to give evidence in the House of Lords. Talking on the impact of AI in art, Ai-Da took to the stand to give their opinion on how copyright laws and creative licenses should be considered in the wake of AI appearing in many different art competitions.
It seems in one short period, AI has rapidly forced its way into law in various different roles, and this will surely be just the start.
