A 19-year-old made a robot lawyer that helps the homeless get free housing

For the homeless, applying for government housing can be a complicated process.Even if theydo everything right, housing is not guaranteed. Theyneed a strong case.Depending on the case and lawyer, legal aid for a government housing application(a legal processwhere lawyersarguefor free or low-costaccommodation) can cost between $65 to $200 money that applicants don't necessarily have.But with the help of a bot made by 19 year-old British programmer Joshua Browder, the applicationcosts nothing and takesonly about 30 seconds.The online bot handles questions about government housing in the UK, wherean estimated185,000people become homeless everyyear. Since the botlaunched August 10, Browder tells Business Insider that severalhundred people have usedit.When someonesigns in, a chat screen pops up.To learnabout acase, the bot asks questions like, "Why were you made homeless'" and "Do you have a legal right to live here'"After it confirms the user iseligible for government housing, it takes down personal information, including marital status and age.It thenspits out ahousing applicationletterthat can bemailed to alocal court.If the robot getsconfused, it tells the userhow to contact Browder, a Stanford University freshman, directly.Browderprogrammed the bot according toUK law. He requested access to previous application letters, and he and a team of volunteer lawyers identifiedtrends inthe accepted ones. The teamthen drafted their own application letters based on those trends, and programmed the bot to customize the letters to each user's case.The bot is based ona conversation algorithm, meaning ituses keywords, pronouns, and word order to understand auser's issue.Browdersays that the more people use the robot, the more intelligent it becomes. Thealgorithmcanquicklyanalyze large amounts of data while improving itself in the process.Browder's previously created abotthat can appeal parking tickets, called Do Not Pay.Since launching in late 2015, Do Not Payhas successfully appealed over$5 million worth of tickets, hesays.Browder isn't the first person to create alawyer bot. The startupAcadmx'sbot creates perfectly formatted legal briefs, whileLex Machinasifts throughjudges' records and makes predictions on what they will do in the future.Most of these bots are tools that can rapidly crawl public records and serve up legal information. While theycan't provide full legal counsel, the botscan aid those in needsometimes atlittle to nocost."I think bots can simplify these systems by imitating a human who can explain the law," Browder says. "The rich already have expensive lawyers and advisors to help them, but bots can help everyone for free."SEE ALSO:10 cities that are starting to go car-freeJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: This device will make you feel less guilty about leaving your dog home alone
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