Welcome to the age of robot lawyers. I can't believe I am typing this, but soon the first ever AI legal assistant will assist defendants in court proceedings. In fact, two defendants will be using AI, both to contest speeding tickets.

Designed by legal advice startup DoNotPay (opens in new tab), the AI will help the defendants by telling them (who remain unidentified) exactly what to say and when through an earpiece during trial (via New Scientist (opens in new tab)). One is broadcast live on Zoom, the other live in the courtroom.

Not only does the company offer advice for any court battle, but you can also connect with "Personable Prison Penals," who will give you advice on how to send them books from Amazon.

With a tagline of "fight corporations, beat bureaucracy, and sue anyone at the push of a button," we can expect to be inundated with "being sued by AI" stories in the coming years DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not a licensed attorney. It is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law.

Good to know.

I didn't know you were allowed to wear earbuds in court, let alone work with algorithms, intelligent or otherwise. AI is probably still a relatively new implementation, especially in the legal field. As such, I have not encountered such a situation and no measures have been taken to prevent it. In any case, not yet.

Watching the evolution of AI this year (open in new tab) has been a roller coaster ride.