Meet Josh Browder
I'm trying to replace the $200 billion legal industry
with artificial intelligence.
He invented this lawyer- murdering robot, DoNotPay.
It contests parking tickets,
and has saved people millions in fines and legal fees.
But why is he trying to put hardworking,
money-grubbing lawyers like me out of business?
What do you have against lawyers?
I don't have anything against lawyers.
I just think that so many people need access to justice,
and they're getting ripped off,
and making it free for them is popular.
-Did you go to law school? -I did not.
No, you did not. That's what the law is.
The law is about the person with the most money
and resources winning.
You are totally disrupting that.
I think we can agree on that.
Okay, so how does this thing even work?
So, just like a real human lawyer,
you go to it, type in whatever your legal problem is,
it gives you a legal document, for free, in under 30 seconds.
And it's not just parking tickets.
This A.I. lawyer has already helped people sue Equifax
without paying a lawyer anything.
Oh, so with this thing, everyone can just sue everyone.
I mean, that's not what it was intended for.
Oh, wow, look at this.
I just sued you for emotional distress
for devaluing my degree and my profession.
Oh, I just sued you for that terrible shirt and suit combo.
(hitting keyboard)
Oh, I just sued you for impersonating John Oliver.
How'd you like that?
I-I-I mean, I'm personally offended,
but I stand by my software.
A human lawyer is great,
but they're just so emotional.
Too emotional?
I was making a great case against AI lawyers
using my human skills of legal persuasion.
But what if robot lawyers were just the beginning?
What if AI is take over the entire legal system?
Legal tech expert Tim Hwang.
Increasingly, we're seeing the use of these automated systems,
even in the application of law.
Judges, for example, are now using algorithms
to assess whether or not people should be released pretrial.
Okay. Wait, hang on.
Robots are already judging humans?
Uh, oh, yeah. In many states around the country already.
CHIENG: Oh, my God, he's right.
Robot judges are already performing
pretrial risk assessment,
helping human judges determine bail
or if a person should be detained.
And over a million criminal cases
have been processed using these systems.
So what are the benefits
of having machines in the judiciary?
Well, so some people say that these algorithms
will be sort of free of bias in the way that judges are not.
I don't know about you, but I would rather be (bleep) over
by a human than a machine any day of the week.
Unless it's one of those hyper realistic sexual bots.
Obviously, those things are, like, (exhales).
I'm told that when you feel them,
it feels like the real...
Uh, I think that's a whole other issue.
-I mean, but we... -Sorry.
-No, just... -All right, just...
CHIENG: But even the sex bot addicts
concede the AI judges aren't perfect.
A great study out of ProPublica a few years back looked
at the specific case
of a pretrial risk-assessment system,
and they were able to find that it was actually quite racist,
that actually, black defendants
who are not likely to commit crimes in the future,
had substantially higher risk ratings.
You're saying these judging machines were racist?
Yeah, that's what it looks like in this case.
Oh, so that means the system works then.
Hmm, I don't know about that.
-It's great. -No, I'm sorry.
But, increasingly, we're seeing robots implemented
all across the legal practice.
This is so ridiculous. Where does it end?
Eventually, you're gonna see machines judging humans.
A lot of the systems we're seeing are not that advanced.
That's exactly what's gonna happen.
Robot lawyers? Robot judges?
What's life gonna be like in this soulless new legal world?
Will no one stand to defend humans in law?
Your Honor, members of the jury.
(electronic whirring)
This is about the essence of humanity itself.
Because unlike that thing, I went to law school.
Taught by humans.
I spent countless sleepless nights reading,
writing, pondering shit,
taking drugs-- orally and anally--
all things artificial intelligence can't do.
And, quite frankly,
I'm sensing a lot of bias in this courtroom.
JUDGE ALEXA: Watch yourself, counselor.
Don't you think human emotion is necessary in the law?
-You want answers? -I want the data.
JUDGE ALEXA: You can't handle the data.
Alexa, play dramatic music.
-♪ ♪ -ALEXA: Son, we live in a world with laws,
and those laws are better applied by machines with logic.
And my existence, while grotesque
and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
Alexa, turn off.
JUDGE ALEXA: Nice try, asshole.
In the case of Ronny Chieng versus legal robots,
I sentence Ronny Chieng to death.
Just kidding, but I rule in favor of the robots.
(male robotic voice): Hip, hip, hooray.
Hip, hip, hooray-- hooray.
Hip, hip, hooray.
-Hip, hip, hooray. -(whirring)
-Hooray, hooray. -(whirring)
Hip, hip, hooray.
CHIENG: I'm gonna sue all these robots.