Science in the week 3

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-can-predict-criminals-repeat-offenders-better-
than-humans

AI can predict which criminals may break

laws again better than humans
02/14/2020
A new study has found that computer algorithms are better at predicting repeat
criminal offenders that humans are. The algorithms have come under fire though for
potentially having a racial bias. The algorithm is around 80 to 90 percent accurate but
even at that level of accuracy we simply can’t tolerate being 10 to 20 percent wrong.
Computer scientist Hany Farid suggests other questions, like how likely someone is to
get a job or jump bail, should factor more heavily into criminal justice decisions, he
suggests.
Artificial intelligence is always something that is amazing but it always has to be
done with care. This story has a very similar story to the movie minority report where the
police could predict when a crime would happen so they could prevent it. I don’t believe
it is ethical to convict someone for something they haven’t actually done or for a
perceived thoughtcrime even if the thought is reprehensible.