Nikita Malik
forbes.com
Originally posted October 4, 2018
Here is an excerpt:
The second concern is on regulation and ethics. Research teams at MIT and Harvard are already looking into the fast-developing area of AI to map the boundaries within which sensitive but important data can be used. Who determines whether this technology can save lives, for example, versus the very real risk of veering into an Orwellian dystopia?
Take artificial intelligence systems that have the ability to predicate a crime based on an individual’s history, and their propensity to do harm. Pennsylvania could be one of the first states in the United States to base criminal sentences not just on the crimes people are convicted of, but also on whether they are deemed likely to commit additional crimes in the future. Statistically derived risk assessments – based on factors such as age, criminal record, and employment, will help judges determine which sentences to give. This would help reduce the cost of, and burden on, the prison system.
Risk assessments – which have existed for a long time - have been used in other areas such as the prevention of terrorism and child sexual exploitation. In the latter category, existing human systems are so overburdened that children are often overlooked, at grave risk to themselves. Human errors in the case work of the severely abused child Gabriel Fernandez contributed to his eventual death at the hands of his parents, and a serious inquest into the shortcomings of the County Department of Children and Family Services in Los Angeles. Using artificial intelligence in vulnerability assessments of children could aid overworked caseworkers and administrators and flag errors in existing systems.
The info is here.
