One country has managed to massively reduce its incarceration rate by releasing a flood of defendants who are deemed unlikely to become recidivists. These defendants almost never commit new crimes. At the same time, the nation's judicial system has taken bold leaps in eradicating almost all race, gender, and socioeconomic biases in judicial decisions.In a another country, quite different events are taking place. The country's defense attorneys have reported that defendants’ alleged rights to due process have been steamrolled by a quasi-dictatorial management system. Some claim the new judges are giving overwhelming preference to wealthier defendants from certain racial sects but such allegations are nearly impossible to prove as court records are confidential. Alarmingly, the government’s new style has sparked a violent backlash, with riots in major cities and a reported increase in crime nationwide.
Actually, neither of these scenarios have occurred- yet. Instead, they are contrasting visions of what could happen to the United States if Artificial Intelligence was given control of judicial outcomes on the issues of bail, sentencing, parole, and more. Technology in the criminal justice system has the potential to change the world. The question is whether we should allow it to.
About The Site: This website is broken up into sections by different stakeholders. These stakeholders often disagree with themselves as much as they do with each other. Within each individual group are arguments both about the current role of technology in the criminal justice system and how these perspectives may extend into the near and distant future. Groups given a voice on this forum represent a diverse array of defendants, public servants, and private businesses who are likely to be impacted by the integration of data analytics into the criminal justice system.
Present: Stakeholders discuss the ongoing use of risk assessment tools to recommend decisions to judges. Risk assessment tools are algorithms created to assess the risk that inmates or defendants will commit further crimes, commit violent crimes, or flee before their trial. A variety of factors such as the severity of an alleged crime or past criminal record are entered into the algorithm. Most algorithms are then programmed to produce a score--one tool, for example, ranks defendant risk from 1 to 6--and a recommendation to a judge. Risk assessment tools (also known as "data assessment tools") are increasingly being used in the United States to recommend decisions on issues such as bail, parole, and sentencing. Some of the most notable uses of data assessment tools have been in the bail system. New Jersey, for example, has eliminated its bail system in favor of algorithmic recommendations to judges on whether pre-trial defendants should be detained, released on their own recognizance, or be given a conditional release.
Near Future: Stakeholders also discuss the potential for risk assessment tools to be replaced with Artificial Intelligence sometime in the near future. Instead of relying on preset algorithms, artificially intelligence technology would be able to learn and reconfigure on its own, changing its formula and findings based on available data. Importantly, technology in this scenario would continue to make recommendations to a judge or similar human decision-maker.
Distant Future: Finally, stakeholders in this forum debate the potential for Artificial Intelligence to become the ultimate arbitrator in criminal justice decisions. Artificial Intelligence would reach a conclusion based on the same methodology as previously noted, but instead of creating recommendations, its verdicts would be final.
Near Future: Stakeholders also discuss the potential for risk assessment tools to be replaced with Artificial Intelligence sometime in the near future. Instead of relying on preset algorithms, artificially intelligence technology would be able to learn and reconfigure on its own, changing its formula and findings based on available data. Importantly, technology in this scenario would continue to make recommendations to a judge or similar human decision-maker.
Distant Future: Finally, stakeholders in this forum debate the potential for Artificial Intelligence to become the ultimate arbitrator in criminal justice decisions. Artificial Intelligence would reach a conclusion based on the same methodology as previously noted, but instead of creating recommendations, its verdicts would be final.