Startup DoNotPay, which developed the world's first robot lawyer, is preparing for one of its first big court battles, facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that it misled customers.
The legal team claims in the March 3 complaint in a San Francisco court that the defendant, Do Not Pay, called her robot "the world's first robot lawyer," an untrue and illegal claim according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that the company's promises led its clients to believe that they were receiving high-quality legal advice and documentation, which is untrue and misleading.
In fact, as stated in the lawsuit, Do Not Pay is not a robot, lawyer or law firm, has no law degree, is not certified in a court in any state, and is not supervised by any lawyer.
The lawsuit adds that Do Not Pay is just a website with an archive of legal documents promoted as legal advice, when it is substandard, according to the lawsuit.
Do Not Pay said it aims to achieve higher accuracy than before with the help of the ChatGPT system (Getty Images).
Although Gizmodo, which broke the news, was not immediately able to determine the nature of the complaints against the company, the internet is full of criticism of the startup.
Do Not Pay has made a name for itself online for its ability to help customers solve simple issues such as parking ticket violations and recover money from cable companies.
But earlier this year, the company announced that it aims to achieve higher accuracy than it used to be with the help of OpenAI's ChatGPT system.
The company claimed it was taking a trial version of an AI-powered "robotic lawyer" into the courtroom to fight a speeding charge before a judge.
The company's founder and CEO, Joshua Browder, has also offered to pay a million dollars to any lawyer willing to allow his artificial intelligence to discuss a case in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Since then, the firm and Browder have faced a wave of criticism, most notably from legal professionals such as lawyer Katherine Tewson.
Tewson also initiated legal proceedings against Browder and his company for fraud in a lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in February.
Commenting on the accusations, Browder said all allegations were unfounded and that he was ready to defend the robot lawyer in court.