Forget RoboCop - a robot lawyer is fighting for justice in Britain, helping the homeless file for aid

The idea started with a desperate email from a woman in a UK hospital. She was afraid of being discharged at the end of her treatment because she had been evicted from her home and had nowhere to return to while in recovery.

The email landed in Joshua Browder’s inbox. He’s the creator of DoNotPay, an online robot that has successfully challenged more than 160,000 parking tickets for drivers in London and New York City. Following the success of the DoNotPay bot, whose services are free, Browder began to see his inbox fill up with questions and requests related to a wide gamut of legal issues.

DoNotPay is a chatbot designed to provide legal assistance. Users visit the website and “chat” via text message with an automated service that asks them relevant questions. Once completed, the bot translates the user’s information into a legally sound document that can be used to appeal parking tickets. The chatbot’s services have also been expanded to allow users to file for flight delay compensation.

Browder, whom the BBC dubbed the “Robin Hood of the Internet,” has now turned the bot’s attention to homelessness.

“I started to receive a large number of messages about evictions and repossessions,” he said. “I felt bad that I didn’t have the knowledge to personally help people, especially since they were being made homeless.”

In Browder’s native Britain, government housing is available for the newly homeless, but people such as the hospitalised woman are required to file their own application letters. Without deep knowledge of laws or the money for legal assistance, people like her are left with few resources to help them get temporary shelter.

Browder decided to extend DoNotPay’s services and offer a way to easily file for government housing without paying a cent. Users visit DoNotPay.co.uk, register and answer questions related to their circumstances, such as the reason for homelessness or critical medical conditions or disabilities. The bot automatically generates a completed application designed to maximise an applicant’s chances of getting housing. For example, if a person reports to the bot that they have a mental illness, the bot will rearrange the claim letter to focus on that.