A company that built what it billed as the world’s first robot lawyer is now pivoting away from that following threats of jail time for the company’s owner and is instead focusing its technology on other areas, including a couple that involve the accounts receivable management industry.
When I mention the company name DoNotPay, you may remember an article I wrote back in December that showed how its artificial intelligence technology successfully negotiated a lower Internet price via an online chat session with a live customer service agent.
DoNotPay is the brainchild of Joshua Browder, who also previously launched a service aimed at giving consumers burner credit cards to help them gather information which could be used to file Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits.
DoNotPay was prepping to help a defendant represent himself in a court in California next month to fight a traffic ticket. But the company began to receive letters from state bar associations reminding it that the unauthorized practice of law is a misdemeanor offense in most states and is punishable by up to six months in jail. Recording audio in court is also usually prohibited, and DoNotPay needs to record the audio in order for the tool to generate responses that the defendant can use to mount his or her defense.
Rather than help people in court and run the risk of ending up in jail, Browder said in a published report that the company will now use its technology to help people deal with expensive medical bills, unwanted subscriptions, and issues with credit reporting agencies.
