An intrepid student has created a simple chatbot program that helps people get out of parking tickets.
Cyrus Farivar reports: "Joshua Browder, a 19-year-old British student at Stanford University, has created a chatbot (DoNotPay.co.uk) that successfully challenged parking tickets in London and New York City."
The chatbot works by asking a few simple questions (via AI or webform) and then auto-generating a legal appeal for the parking ticket.
Browder claims that the chatbot has challenged 160,000 parking tickets so far, and has a "low 60 percent" success rate in beating the rap. Browder also credits the success rate to overzealous implementation of parking regulations. Browder also says that the model is likely to work in other cities, because "If it can work in New York it can work anywhere." Seattle is the next target.
FULL STORY: This chatbot appeals parking tickets and wins 60 percent of the time
Modern Love Looks Like Parking Tickets
Fools rush in, they say—with a little push from the Cambridge Traffic, Parking, & Transportation Department.
Parking Ticket Revenue: Which Cities Earn Most?
A list of 15 cities with the highest per-capita parking enforcement revenue.
Why Chicago Doesn’t Own its Parking Meters
More than a decade ago, the city sold control of its curb parking to private investors.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)