News JVTech Accused of speeding, this motorist chooses an AI as a lawyer
After allowing many people to recover money or save money by playing the “online lawyer” card, the artificial intelligence DoNotPay is now going to court to defend a motorist accused of excess of speed.
A few weeks ago, we told you about DoNotPay, an artificial intelligence capable of replacing a human being to negotiate a contract, request an unsubscribe based on the general conditions of sale and even threaten uncooperative customer service with a lawsuit. Developed by Joshua Browder, this artificial intelligence is presented as a kind “synthetic avocado”intended for help consumers win their case without the latter having to take part in stressful negotiations themselves.
When DoNotPay actually replaces the lawyer
DoNotPay is still only considered as a simple administrative chatbot, but the situation is changing. Indeed, next February, the AI will take it to the next level, assisting a motorist who will go to court for speeding. According to the media NewScientist who reports the case, “this is probably the first case in which the lawyer is an artificial intelligence”.
Here, it will therefore not be a question of negotiating the amount of an invoice, of carrying out an administrative procedure or of obtaining a medical appointment quickly, but of give the keys to an accused person so that they can defend themselves in court. The accused will be equipped with a headset, in which he can hear the transcription of the text generated by the chatbot. This one will capture the dialogues of the court using a smartphone present in the room.
A screenshot of the DoNotPay website
One small step for justice, one giant leap for artificial intelligence
The case decided is not serious: the motorist incurs a fine of 16 dollars. In a classic case, it’s a safe bet that he would have decided to represent himself anyway and therefore not to hire a lawyer to assist him. The designer of DoNotPay sees in this situation above all the opportunity to test his creation in a context other than a simple online process.
While the identity of the accused and the location of the trial are kept secret, it should be noted that the use of a smartphone and a headset suggests that the jurisdiction of the place where the case takes place is rather flexible : the use of this type of electronic device remains largely prohibited in most courts. Thereby, it will probably be difficult to have a testimony other than that of the DoNotPay company once the experiment has been carried outwhich could bias feedback.
A powerful AI, but which remains limited
Still under development, the DoNotPay AI is perfected over time by its creator and this new demonstration should allow him to expand his skills, whether success is there or not. Joshua Browder remains realistic in estimating that its creation will probably never be able to replace a lawyer, especially in the most complex cases, but he remains convinced that it could be a game-changer in the simplest cases. We just have to wait for the conclusions of this case.
