AI and hidden algorithms already shaping our everyday lives

Sci-Fi movies have long played on our fear of artificially intelligent robot armies taking over the world, but hidden and often secret algorithms are already busy at work in society, delivering sometimes life-changing consequences. Humanoid robots, capable of thinking, moving and talking, is the most common imagery when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, but incredibly powerful computer algorithms, which silently churn through oceans of data, also fall under the AI umbrella. Computers are already making important decisions and influential judgements in the key societal pillars of justice, policing, employment and finance. NSW Police are known to be using a controversial algorithm which claims to predict youth crime before it happens. But critics of NSW Police's Suspect Target Management Plan (STMP) system argue the software is racist, and unfairly blacklists and targets Aboriginal youths.