DoNotPay: AI lawyer in the USA as legal counsel in court

Artificial intelligence is supposed to do one thing above all – make life easier for all of us. But in the meantime, many a professional group may feel that their honor has been attacked. After all, digital assistants are slowly making it possible to perform even highly respected professions. And some of them do it better than their human counterparts. In the USA, the artificial intelligence DoNotPay will soon be celebrating its premiere as a lawyer in court.

A lawyer named DoNotPay

Law school is considered one of the most highly regarded courses in the world. Law students spend many years cramming paragraphs to eventually hold their long-awaited degree in their hands. Finally, they receive the authority to appear in court as an attorney and help people enforce their rights. Will this soon be the end of it? An example from the U.S. makes it clear that the status of some lawyers could soon be on the decline. In February, the first trial in the world is to take place in which clients will be represented by an artificial intelligence. The lawyer used in the process is appropriately named DoNotPay and, according to a report by newsscientist.com, will then be considered full-fledged legal representation.

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Artificial intelligence as a future job killer?

Many a writer may have felt at least a slight twinge of fear for the future in recent weeks. After all, with ChatGPT, which is now the talk of the town, a chatbot found its way onto the Internet that is supposed to be able to compose natural texts. Unlike previous chat programs, ordinary mortals are not supposed to notice that an artificial intelligence has thought up the words that are strung together. We can also observe a very similar phenomenon with AI Lawyer. The artificial intelligence penned by the company DoNotPay has its roots on a website that was used to check claims.

A German counterpart to this would be the successful German format Flightright. On the portal, you can have your legal claims checked as an airline passenger. DoNotPay functioned in a very similar way, but was broader in its claims checking. For example, it was also possible to conveniently check whether a parking ticket was issued legally or not. DoNotPay has now apparently perfected its AI and is letting it flex its muscles in court for the first time. The name is self-explanatory. While a lawyer is extremely expensive, even in the U.S., DoNotPay is supposed to make it possible for people on a tight budget to get legal assistance in court. After all, the whole thing is free.

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DoNotPay starts small

Of course, DoNotPay’s first court hearing is not a murder case. Since everyone starts small once, it is apparently also for the newly minted AI lawyer to first gain experience. It is not yet known what the trial in February will be about in detail. However, it is assumed that two clients will be represented who want to defend themselves against a traffic ticket. Of course, DoNotPay will not appear in court in the form of a robot or similar. Instead, the clients will be equipped with Bluetooth headphones and will ultimately answer as the artificial intelligence tells them to. With the help of the microphones in the headphones, DoNotPay can then record and process the necessary information.

A good support for lawyers

Of course, this technology sounds quite ambitious. But just because something is technically possible doesn’t mean it has to make its way into the mainstream. After all, one should not underestimate the interpersonal aspects of court proceedings. In civil law in particular, there is an increasing focus on settlements that require negotiating skills. Here, people still have the edge. In the short term, however, solutions like DoNotPay could make the lives of lawyers much easier. After all, they could use them as a supportive source of information during a negotiation.