The mobile application driven by artificial intelligence called I.Avocat, which appeared at the very beginning of this year, sparked a lively controversy on social networks. The mini-program which promised as effectively and at a lower cost to do without the services of a lawyer attracted the wrath of the profession.
From the start, the affair was already off to a bad start. The marketing argument to sell this app to Internet users has outraged all legal professionals. In a promotional spot filmed in front of the Court of Appeal of the city of Lyon, a litigant, undoubtedly fictitious, praises the prowess of this AI-boosted mini-program which would be capable of providing answers “ in one minute “, ” where a lawyer would take a year “. The description of this service “ virtual lawyer on mobile » also highlighted the reduced cost of its subscription, of “ 69 euros per year against 1 000 euros for a lawyer. » And the highlight of the show: the creator of the app, known in Lyon as European Thai boxing champion, concluded: “ Although I do not have an official diploma, I am able to compete with any lawyer “. But there ! you don’t have to be a senior member of the bar to understand that this profession, like that of doctors, is regulated in France and that any person who claims to practice it without a diploma falls foul of the “crime of usurpation of the title of lawyer.” “, we learn from the Penal Code.
Furthermore, the legal advice delivered by the app would be mediocre, denounce some lawyers on social networks.
The application’s AI program tends to hallucinate, that is to say, to invent answers on specific questions of law, notes, for example, Maître Eolas on the social network articles of law that do not exist or date them incorrectly. But the main problem of I.Avocat is above all that of the confidentiality and security of the data which have been analyzed by the system. After scanning the documents contained in a procedure file, it becomes impossible to know in which region of the world they will be hosted! Perhaps in the United Arab Emirates, worry legal professionals, who note that the company, at the origin of I.Avocat, is registered in Dubai.
To face criticism and following the formal notice from the Paris bar asking him to withdraw his program, the creator of the application promises that he will modify the functionalities of his artificial intelligence.
He indicates that his app will only be used to give legal advice to Internet users. Furthermore, the system will offer, based on the Doctolib model, a mobile platform for connecting litigants and lawyers. On the other hand, he does not regret at all his online success which allowed him to achieve a resounding buzz. Its application, which can only be obtained through a paid subscription, has been downloaded more than 20,000 times since January 1.