Scientists push for algorithms to make judicial decisions as MIT economist suggest AI could help improve trial outcomes

Researchers have suggested giving algorithms power over one of the most crucial backbones of American society - the justice system. Scientists from MIT proposed the tech could be used to make pre-trial bail decisions fairer after their study found human judges are systematically biased. The team analyzed more than one million cases in New York City, finding 20 percent of judges made their conclusions based on the defendant's age, race or criminal history. The paper found that decisions of at least 32 percent of judges were inconsistent with the actual ability of defendants to post a specified bail amount and real the risk of them failing to appear for trial. A new paper found that New York judges sometimes made a mistake based on their own biases when setting bail for a new defendant.