The AI lawyer was banned from attending court under the…

Joshua Browder, founder of DoNotPay, broke the news that he was literally banned from running an AI lawyer project that could help people defend their rights in court. Interestingly, the ban is legally justified.

As Browder wrote, representatives of the bar associations of several US states terrorized him, threatening him with imprisonment. But not out of jealousy or fear that AI could take them out of their jobs, but because DoNotPay “violates the laws of these states.” It's simple - AI does not have a lawyer's license, and conducting unauthorized legal practice is a direct violation of the law. But, since you can’t put an application in jail, they threaten to send its creator and owner there.

It's one thing for people to use AI services while preparing for trial - in this case it is tantamount to reading a handbook. But Browder wanted to put his client's smartphone with the app in his pocket and give him an earpiece so that the AI could hear what was going on in court and give advice in real time. But who authorized him to do so? Browder did not ask for permission to conduct such an experiment, and it is unlikely that he would have received it.

It is quite logical that giving advice as a "smart reference" and working as a real lawyer are very different things. It is likely that the AI would be able to reasonably dispute the claims and answer the questions of the judge, but the rest of the work of a lawyer is not yet within its power.