DoNotPay cancels "robot lawyer" courtroom debut after state bars threaten prosecution and jail time

DoNotPay's robot lawyer never made it to the podium. CEO Joshua Browder scrapped the plan to have an AI argue a defendant's California traffic ticket case on Feb. 22, 2023, after what he says were threats of prosecution and prison from state bar officials.

The setup: the defendant wears smart glasses that record the proceeding and pipe ChatGPT- and DaVinci-generated arguments into an earpiece. Browder says letters poured in from multiple state bars, one noting that unauthorized practice of law is a misdemeanor in some states punishable by up to six months in county jail. "Even if it wouldn't happen, the threat of criminal charges was enough to give it up," he told NPR. DoNotPay, which has raised $28 million, is under investigation by several bars including California's, though Browder wouldn't say which ones sent the letters.

Two other problems were already on the table. The tools had never been tested in an actual courtroom, and users reported mixed to shoddy results with the basic features. And the system requires recording live audio, which is banned in federal court and often prohibited in state courts. Browder, who earlier in January offered $1 million to any lawyer who would argue before the U.S. Supreme Court wearing AirPods fed by the bot, is redirecting the company toward medical bills, unwanted subscriptions, and credit reporting disputes.