Technologies

AI as Lawyer: It’s Starting as a Stunt, but There’s a Real Need

People already have a hard enough time getting help from lawyers. Advocates say AI could change that.

Next month, AI will enter the courtroom, and the US legal system may never be the same.

An artificial intelligence chatbot, technology programmed to respond to questions and hold a conversation, is expected to advise two individuals fighting speeding tickets in courtrooms in undisclosed cities. The two will wear a wireless headphone, which will relay what the judge says to the chatbot being run by DoNotPay, a company that typically helps people fight traffic tickets through the mail. The headphone will then play the chatbot’s suggested responses to the judge’s questions, which the individuals can then choose to repeat in court.

It’s a stunt. But it also has the potential to change how people interact with the law, and to bring many more changes over time. DoNotPay CEO Josh Browder says expensive legal fees have historically kept people from hiring traditional lawyers to fight for them in traffic court, which typically involves fines that can reach into the hundreds of dollars.

So, his team wondered whether an AI chatbot, trained to understand and argue the law, could intervene.

«Most people can’t afford legal representation,» Browder said in an interview. Using the AI in a real court situation «will be a proof of concept for courts to allow technology in the courtroom.»

Regardless of whether Browder is successful — he says he will be — his company’s actions mark the first of what are likely to be many more efforts to bring AI further into our daily lives.

Modern life is already filled with the technology. Some people wake up to a song chosen by AI-powered alarms. Their news feed is often curated by a computer program, too, one that’s taught to pick items they’ll find most interesting or that they’ll be most likely to comment on and share via social media. AI chooses what photos to show us on our phones, it asks us if it should add a meeting to our calendars based on emails we receive, and it reminds us to text a birthday greeting to our loved ones.

But advocates say AI’s ability to sort information, spot patterns and quickly pull up data means that in a short time, it could become a «copilot» for our daily lives. Already, coders on Microsoft-owned GitHub are using AI to help them create apps and solve technical problems. Social media managers are relying on AI to help determine the best time to post a new item. Even we here at CNET are experimenting with whether AI can help write explainer-type stories about the ever-changing world of finance.

So, it can seem like only a matter of time before AI finds its way into research-heavy industries like the law as well. And considering that 80% of low-income Americans don’t have access to legal help, while 40% to 60% of the middle class still struggle to get such assistance, there’s clearly demand. AI could help meet that need, but lawyers shouldn’t feel like new technology is going to take business away from them, says Andrew Perlman, dean of the law school at Suffolk University. It’s simply a matter of scale.

«There is no way that the legal profession is going to be able to deliver all of the legal services that people need,» Perlman said.

Turning to AI

DoNotPay began its latest AI experiment back in 2021 when businesses were given early access to GPT-3, the same AI tool used by the startup OpenAI to create ChatGPT, which went viral for its ability to answer questions, write essays and even create new computer programs. In December, Browder pitched his idea via a tweet: have someone wear an Apple AirPod into traffic court so that the AI could hear what’s happening through the microphone and feed responses through the earbud.

Aside from people jeering him for the stunt, Browder knew he’d have other challenges. Many states and districts limit legal advisors to those who are licensed to practice law, a clear hurdle that UC Irvine School of Law professor Emily Taylor Poppe said may cause trouble for DoNotPay’s AI.

«Because the AI would be providing information in real time, and because it would involve applying relevant law to specific facts, it is hard to see how it could avoid being seen as the provision of legal advice,» Poppe said. Essentially, the AI would be legally considered a lawyer acting without a law license.

AI tools raise privacy concerns too. The computer program technically needs to record audio to interpret what it hears, a move that’s not allowed in many courts. Lawyers are also expected to follow ethics rules that forbid them from sharing confidential information about clients. Can a chatbot, designed to share information, follow the same protocols?

Perlman says many of these concerns can be answered if these tools are created with care. If successful, he argues, these technologies could also help with the mountains of paperwork lawyers encounter on a daily basis.

Ultimately, he argues, chatbots may turn out to be as helpful as Google and other research tools are today, saving lawyers from having to physically wade through law libraries to find information stored on bookshelves.

«Lawyers trying to deliver legal services without technology are going to be inadequate and insufficient to meeting the public’s legalities,» Perlman said. Ultimately, he believes, AI can do more good than harm.

The two cases DoNotPay participates in will likely impact much of that conversation. Browder declined to say where the proceedings will take place, citing safety concerns.

Neither DoNotPay nor the defendants plan to inform the judges or anyone in court that an AI is being used or that audio is being recorded, a fact that raises ethics concerns. This in itself resulted in pushback on Twitter when Browder asked for traffic ticket volunteers in December. But Browder says the courts that DoNotPay chose are likely to be more lenient if they find out.

The future of law

After these traffic ticket fights, DoNotPay plans to create a video presentation designed to advocate in favor of the technology, ultimately with the goal of changing law and policy to allow AI in courtrooms.

States and legal organizations, meanwhile, are already debating these questions. In 2020, a California task force dedicated to exploring ways to expand access to legal services recommended allowing select unlicensed practitioners to represent clients, among other reforms. The American Bar Association told judges using AI tools to be mindful of biases instilled in the tools themselves. UNESCO, the international organization dedicated to preserving culture, has a free online course covering the basics of what AI can offer legal systems.

For his part, Browder says AI chatbots will become so popular in the next couple of years that the courts will have no choice but to allow them anyway. Perhaps AI tools will have a seat at the table, rather than having to whisper in our ears.

«Six months ago, you couldn’t even imagine that an AI could respond in these detailed ways,» Browder said. «No one has imagined, in any law, what this could be like in real life.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 13 #740

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 13, No. 740.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be easy for fans of a certain musical genre. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Mountain band.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Traditional tunes.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BLUE, GAME, CHAR, CHARM, SARGE, SEEN, BRAT, BRIT, RILE, NOSE, DARN

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

BANJO, FIDDLE, GUITAR, MANDOLIN, HARMONICA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is BLUEGRASSMUSIC. To find it, start with the B that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up and around.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 13, #1006

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 13, No. 1,006.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. That purple one is a real head-scratcher, once again. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: I don’t want that.

Green group hint: Time to count.

Blue group hint: Not floors or ceilings.

Purple group hint: Sounds like…

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: «No thanks.»

Green group: Kinds of numbers.

Blue group: Kinds of walls.

Purple group: Homophones of non-numeric amounts.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is «No thanks.» The four answers are later, nah, next time and pass.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of numbers. The four answers are even, irrational, perfect and prime.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of walls. The four answers are Berlin, brick, fourth and Great.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones of non-numeric amounts. The four answers are awl (all), nun (none), phew (few) and sum (some).

Quick tips for Connections

#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.

#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the «shuffle» button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.

#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. «Rushmore» was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.

Technologies

iPhone Lost and Battery Drained? Here’s How You Can Still Find It

Even a dead battery can’t keep you and your misplaced iPhone apart. This is the ultimate guide to using Find My to locate a dead iPhone.

You’d think it’s impossible to lose track of an iPhone you carry everywhere, but we do it all the time — too often before we have a chance to charge it. Apple’s Find My feature, with its crowdsourced Find My Network, will usually pinpoint the phone’s location. But what about when the battery is totally drained?

Turns out Find My works even then. It sends your phone’s location to iCloud, even when the device is off. For added defense, Stolen Device Protection secures sensitive data, such as credit cards and passwords.

If you have an iPhone 11 or newer model (excluding the 2020 and 2022 iPhone SE, the iPhone 16E and iPhone 17E), you have the ultra-wideband chip for offline finding. As long as Find My is enabled and you’re signed in to your Apple ID, you can locate your iPhone even if the battery is dead. Before panicking, follow these steps to recover your phone.

Apple Find My and Find My Network aren’t the same

Apple Find My and Find My Network are different, which can be confusing. While Find My is the name of an app, the Find My Network is what allows you to locate your device when it’s offline, turned off or low on power. It’s also how AirTags update their locations automatically, even when buried at the bottom of luggage on a plane.

You can use the Find My Network feature within Apple’s Find My app or sign into your Apple ID at iCloud.com to locate your misplaced iPhone. Plus, the app also allows you to add other Apple products and items that you want to track to your Find My Network.

How to turn on Find My and Find My Network

You need to make sure Find My and Find My Network are set up to allow you to locate your switched-off iPhone. Open Settings and follow these steps:

Tap on your name in the Settings menu.
Go to Find My > Find My iPhone and make sure the switch is toggled on.
Below Find My iPhone, you’ll see Find My Network and Send Last Location toggles. Turn them on, too.

You can check if your iPhone is discoverable even when it’s switched off by going to the power menu: Swipe down from the top-right corner to view Control Center and press and hold the power button in that corner, or hold the side and volume down button. Under the «slide to power off» slider, look for «iPhone Findable After Power Off.» Your iPhone is now all set to be found, even if a thief turns it off.

However, there are a few exceptions. If your iPhone hasn’t sent its location to Apple through Find My in the last seven days, you’ll see «No location found» next to your device. It can happen if there’s an issue with your device’s location services.

How to find a lost iPhone with the Find My app on another Apple device

Now comes the hard part: What happens after you lose your iPhone? Assuming you’ve completed the steps above, you can keep calm. If you have another Apple device, such as an Apple Watch, iPad or MacBook, follow the steps below to locate your misplaced or stolen iPhone. This will also work on a friend’s or family member’s device that you’ve shared your location with.

Open the Find My app and locate your iPhone in the list under the Devices tab. You should see it in this list (even if it’s powered off) as long as you have previously enabled the Find My iPhone, Find My Network and Send Last Location options.
Tap or click the name of your iPhone. This should take you to a menu with several options for finding your phone or marking it as lost.
If you misplaced your iPhone and you’re sure that it’s nearby, tap or click Play Sound or Directions to make the device play a sound or get directions to the device’s last recorded location, respectively.
If you’re sure your iPhone is stolen, tap Activate under the Mark As Lost option. This immediately locks the device with your passcode, suspends Apple Pay and displays a custom message with your contact information for anyone who finds it. You can also use Send Last Location to locate the last known location of your device.

How to find a lost iPhone if you don’t have another Apple device

In case you don’t have another Apple device, you can sign into your iCloud account in a web browser to find your lost iPhone (though this option can be troublesome if you don’t have another Apple device because of two-factor authentication). Follow these steps to use a web browser to see your lost iPhone’s location:

Go to icloud.com/find and sign in with your Apple ID.
Go to the Devices list.
From here, use the same options for playing a sound, marking your device as lost or erasing the device as you would in the app.

You can also disable Control Center access on the lock screen while traveling abroad to prevent a thief from turning off data or enabling Airplane mode. To do this, do the following:

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) and enter your passcode.
Under the Allow Access When Locked section, toggle off the Control Center option.

This option can add some inconvenience to day-to-day use, but I recommend turning off Control Center while traveling.

These settings give you the best chance of finding your iPhone if it’s been stolen and turned off. For more iPhone tips and advice, check out our guide to the Camera Control and how to block distracting websites.