Image: DoNotPay official website
Seeking legal advice from a lawyer is not always free. An artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that offers free legal advice could help change things.
This chatbot, aptly called DoNotPay, was made available to all areas of the United States. It is considered by its creator as “the world’s first robot lawyer,” according to The Verge.
The chatbot was created by British Stanford University junior and entrepreneur Joshua Bowder. It was first launched in the United Kingdom, New York and Seattle where it gained success. Now that it has been made available to all 50 states of the U.S., the chatbot has the potential to help more people.
But there may be some legal repercussions. Because on the other hand, Bowder is concerned about how the chatbot will affect the income of lawyers who charge for giving legal advice.
“The legal industry is more than a 200 billion dollar industry, but I am excited to make the law free,” he said. “Some of the biggest law firms can’t be happy!”
Bowder also claims that the chatbot will potentially save government officials time and money when it comes to employing people just to read parking ticket appeals.
Apart from giving free legal advice, Bowder’s chatbot is able to create appeal letters for various legal issues that users can print and sign, then send off to the appropriate authorities.
To use DoNotPay, just type in the concern on the text box and wait for options to appear underneath. If the chatbot can help, a clickable option will be available which will lead to a chatbox where the user can converse with the chatbot.
Image: DoNotPay official website
Image: DoNotPay official website
Image: DoNotPay official website
Otherwise, a “Need extra help?” message will be the only option available. When clicked, it will prompt users to compose an email for their inquiries.
Image: DoNotPay official website
DoNotPay’s services is not yet as extensive as that of a regular lawyer but being able to get free advice for small legal matters should help save some time and money for a good number of people. Alfred Bayle/JB