Joshua Browder
Quick Facts
Biography
Joshua Browder is a British entrepreneur and public figure. He is the founder of DoNotPay, the first website that allows motorists to appeal their parking tickets automatically.
DoNotPay
Browder grew up in Hampstead, London. At the age of 18, he began to receive a large number of parking tickets. Noticing that these tickets were issued unfairly, and the "formulaic nature" of the process by which they could be appealed, Browder created DoNotPay. Since its launch, the site has attracted over 175,000 successful users and saved UK and New York motorists an estimated $5 million.
According to Forbes, Browder programmed the entirety of the website between the hours of 12am and 3am. He taught himself to code at age 12.
On 12 January 2015 it was announced that Browder created the UK's first 'robot lawyer'. He ultimately hopes to replace "25,000 exploitative lawyers" with robots which can respond to questions with human emotions powered by artificial intelligence.
Human rights work
Outside of his business, Browder is known to be actively involved in the intersection between technology and human rights. At the age of 16, he programmed an iPhone application for Freedom House, the oldest human rights organization in the United States. He worked with an Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, David J. Kramer, to bypass Chinese censorship and make the Freedom of the World Report available in 155 countries. The app has been downloaded 17,000 times and is regularly used by members of Congress and the media.
Browder has described mobile apps as the "new technology" for fighting for human rights. As an International Bridges to Justice Youth Fellow, he created an app to educate lawyers in Burundi, Cameroon and Ghana how to effectively defend economically disadvantaged clients.
He is also a contributor to Washington D.C political newspaper The Hill, where he writes about civil rights and the death penalty.
Awards and recognition
- On January 16th, 2017, Browder became the youngest member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Law and Policy category.
- 2015 Huffington Post Entrepreneur Of The Week
- 2015 Times of London 15 Smartest Kids On The Planet
- UNESCO European Youth Award Finalist
- "30 Under 30 Europe: Meet The Law & Policy Class Of 2017". Forbes.
- "Young Entrepreneur Of The Week". Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- "Is This The Cleverest Boy In The World?". Times Of London. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- "Finalists". Unesco European Youth Award. Retrieved 17 February 2016.