Skip to main content

The robo-lawyer that appealed $4M in parking tickets is now helping the homeless

DoNotPay Housing Secret Video
You may have heard of DoNotPay, the free “robot lawyer” created by 19-year-old British computer whiz Joshua Browder, which has so far helped appeal $4 million worth of parking tickets without the need for expensive legal fees.

Well, Browder is at it again — with a new expansion of the chatbot’s services to help homeless people take advantage of UK laws providing assistance in the form of government housing.

Recommended Videos

The project started when Browder — currently studying Economics and Computer Science at Stanford University — heard about the plight of a British woman being discharged from hospital, who had been evicted from her home and therefore had nowhere to stay while she recovered. As a result, he decided to update DoNotPay’s online text message-based chat service to help people like her navigate the labyrinthine world of UK local politics.

“I’m working with several lawyers and Centrepoint, the largest charity in the UK for homeless youth, to design a free way for those who face eviction and repossession to claim housing from the government,” Browder told Digital Trends. “It works by asking questions to ensure the person is eligible before taking down specific details. The eligibility questions include whether you’re a UK citizen and whether you’re legally homeless, for example. It will then use all that information to generate a complete housing letter, which can be sent directly to the government.”

Bowder said this legal document — which takes advantage of the recent advances in natural language processing — will even be structured in such a way as to “maximize [a claimant’s] legal chances” by highlighting the most relevant information.

It’s a powerful tool, which comes at a time when welfare cuts and rising rent have led to a 53 percent increase in evictions in the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2015. It also shows the power in an AI chatbot Browder admitted was invented to show off to his friends about his ability to appeal parking tickets. “It made me realize that helping people with the law using technology is bigger than just a few traffic fines,” he said.

His ambitions don’t stop there, either. “Currently the bot not only works with unpaid parking tickets and homelessness, but also delayed flights, HIV-related legal issues, and PPI bank charges,” Bowder said. “In the future, I’m also looking to expand it to help Syrian refugees claim asylum in the UK.”

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Hertz is selling used Teslas for under $20K, Chevrolet Bolt EVs under $14K
2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently nixed hopes of a regular Tesla model ever selling for $25,000.

But he was talking about new models. For car rental company Hertz, the race to sell used Teslas and other EVs at ever-lower prices is not only still on but accelerating.

Read more
Never mind slowing sales, 57% of drivers will likely have an EV in 10 years

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have slowed globally over the past few years. But should EV makers cater more to the mainstream, it’s likely that 57% of drivers will have an EV in 10 years, consulting firm Accenture says.

Last year, nearly 14 million EVs were sold globally, representing a 35% year-on-year increase. But it was much slower than the 55% sales growth recorded in 2022 and the 121% growth in 2021.

Read more
Trade group says EV tax incentive helps U.S. industry compete versus China
ev group support tax incentive 201 seer credit eligibility

The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a trade group with members including the likes of Tesla, Waymo, Rivian, and Uber, is coming out in support of tax incentives for both the production and sale of electric vehicles (EVs).

Domestic manufacturers of EVs and their components, such as batteries, have received tax incentives that have driven job opportunities in states like Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Georgia, the group says.

Read more