Artificial intelligence to enhance Australian judiciary system

Sentences handed down by artificial intelligence would be fairer, more efficient, transparent and accurate than those of sitting judges, according to Swinburne researchers. Dean of Swinburne Law School, Professor Dan Hunter, and Swinburne researcher Professor Mirko Bagaric say artificial intelligence (AI) could improve sentencing procedures by removing emotional bias and human error. In a paper for the Criminal Law Journal, Professors Bagaric and Hunter argue that AI sentencing would better identify, sort and calibrate all the variables associated with sentencing, including criminal history, education, drug/alcohol use, emotional motivations and employment. The pair argue that sentencing decisions are often influenced by more than 200 considerations, many of which are variables which have been established prior to court hearings. Professor Bagaric says subconscious bias plays a large part in sentencing in which judges or magistrates hand down harder penalties to offenders of a particular race or background.