Ritika Dutt

Ritika Dutt is a Canadian entrepreneur. She is the CEO and co-founder of the legal artificial intelligence company Botler AI. In December 2019, Dutt was named as the only Canadian in the Forbes' 30 Under 30 2020 Law and Policy List.

Early life and education Dutt was born in India, spent her childhood in Hong Kong and her teenage years in Singapore. In 2009, she moved to Montréal, Canada to attend McGill University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science in 2013.

Early career After graduating from McGill, Dutt headed the marketing department of a Y Combinator startup. She then took over the internal operations of Notman House, Montreal's Google for Entrepreneurs tech hub, where she fostered the local startup community by supporting and promoting innovative ventures and initiatives.

Using her background in economics and innovation, Dutt then co-founded Botler AI in 2017 to enhance accessibility to the legal system, through artificial intelligence.

Experience with workplace sexual harassment Prior to co-founding Botler, Dutt found herself faced with a stalker during a terrifying, months-long ordeal. Though fearful, Dutt found herself making excuses thinking "It’s all in my head" or "I don't know if something is really wrong or if I'm too sensitive". She didn't know what her rights were, what she should do, or if the man's actions were illegal.

Months later, after the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations and ensuing spread of the #MeToo movement, Dutt started researching the relevant legal codes and learned what had happened to her was a crime. She gained confidence from learning there was a legal basis to what she had felt and that she had been justified with her discomfort.

Dutt realized that sexual harassment was a far bigger issue than imagined and found herself angered thinking “How many people think they can do this and get away with it?". The Artificial Intelligence system, which also used deep learning, was trained using over 300,000 court documents from Canada and the United States.

Dutt also commented “This is just the first step” and revealed plans to expand Botler to connect users with resources appropriate with their situation, including legal representation.