AI Isn't a Crystal Ball, But It Might Be a Mirror

Everyone from the ACLU to the Koch brothers wants to reduce the number of people in prison and in jail. Liberals view mass incarceration as an unjust result of a racist system. Conservatives view the criminal justice system as an inefficient system in dire need of reform. But both sides agree: Reducing the number of people behind bars is an all-around good idea. To that end, AI--in particular, so-called predictive technologies--has been deployed to support various parts of our criminal justice system.