The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States has announced that it has filed lawsuits against multiple companies as part of Operation AI Comply, a crackdown on artificial intelligence (AI) hype and fraudulent schemes. Among them is a company that claims to provide “the world’s first AI lawyer.”DoNotPay“The FTC has not tested whether the output of the AI chatbot is at the level of a human lawyer.”
FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptive AI Claims and Schemes | Federal Trade Commission
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-announces-crackdown-deceptive-ai-claims-schemes
DoNotPay has to pay $193K for falsely touting untested AI lawyer, FTC says | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/startup-behind-worlds-first-robot-lawyer-to-pay-193k-for-false-ads-ftc-says/
DoNotPay started in 2015 as a service that provides free support for disputing parking violations. Since then, it has rapidly expanded to cover more than 200 areas of law, from claims for breach of contract to divorce mediation.
Starting in 2019, DoNotPay will become a paid service of $36 (approximately 5,200 yen) for two months, and the service will be expanded using bold advertising slogans such as “The world’s first AI lawyer” and “Anyone can sue with the touch of a button.” I tried.
Free software “DoNotPay” that advises people not to pay fines successfully cancels 160,000 parking tickets – GIGAZINE
However, DoNotPay was sued by users. For example, in 2023, DoNotPay was sued by a user for providing “substandard results” when preparing application documents for small claims and employment discrimination cases. In this trial, DoNotPay showed a willingness to fight using the AI lawyer provided by its own service, but in the end it received a flood of threats from the bar association and the judgment that the legal risk was too high. Since then, the use of AI lawyers has been discontinued.
“Robot lawyer” using AI stopped appearing in court due to inundation of threats from human lawyers saying “I will throw him in jail” – GIGAZINE
According to the FTC’s investigation, DoNotPay’s service is basically just a chatbot that uses ChatGPT’s API, and does not use a model trained on the latest laws or precedents. Additionally, the testimonials DoNotPay used in its advertisements were taken from opinion articles written by high school students, and it did not employ human lawyers to verify the quality of its services or the accuracy of its answers. It turns out.
According to the FTC, DoNotPay has agreed to a proposed settlement with the FTC. The proposed settlement states that “we will pay $193,000 (approximately 28 million yen),” “we will notify users who registered for the service between 2021 and 2023 of functional limitations,” and “we will not be able to provide a clear basis for this in the future.” The law prohibits companies from claiming to be a substitute for law firms without actually having to do so.
“DoNotPay is pleased to have worked constructively with the FTC to resolve this matter and fully resolve these issues,” a DoNotPay spokesperson told Ars Technica. comment. However, he argued, “This complaint relates to a service that was discontinued several years ago and affects several hundred of our millions of customers.”
“Using AI tools to deceive, mislead, or defraud people is illegal,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement. By cracking down on unfair or deceptive practices in these markets, the FTC ensures that honest companies and innovators get a fair chance and that consumers are protected. “I’m doing it,” he commented.
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