When we think of AI eliminating jobs, we usually consider food and hospitality workers, retail associates, truck drivers, and customer service personnel- not lawyers.
But next month, an AI-powered legal assistant will fight a traffic ticket in US court for what is likely the first time in history.
The defendant will use DoNotPay, a free AI legal assistant that will guide the defendant's responses throughout the trial via Bluetooth earpiece.
They have also agreed only to repeat what the AI application has instructed them, and DoNotPay has agreed to cover any fines if they lose the case.
While the idea of a robot replacing a human in court may sound like a science-fiction book plot, if AI lawyers became popular it would decrease the yearly household spend on litigation, improve accessibility to legal services and greatly benefit lower-income individuals.
It is impossible to ignore how technology has impacted our society in the past 50 years. The internet and cell phones have been rapidly integrated, normalized and overshadowed by the onset of self-driving cars, gene-editing technology and AI.
We’ve developed AI that has seamlessly integrated into our lives, controlling the lighting, sound and appliances in our homes, guiding us to any destination and answering any question we can think of, in seconds.
People like DoNotPay CEO, Joshua Browder, want to use this innovative technology to “fight corporations, beat bureaucracy,” and "find hidden money”, and most of us wouldn’t argue with that.
But, now that we’ve unboxed this technology, how can we be sure about what kind of impact it’ll have on our world? And when, if ever, will that impact be overshadowed?
Let us know what you think.
