Slashdot Mirror
Wisconsin's Prison-Sentencing Algorithm Challenged in Court (engadget.com)
"Do you want a computer to help decide a convict's fate?" asks Engadget, telling the story of a Wisconsin convict who "claims that the justice system relied too heavily on its COMPAS algorithm to determine the likelihood of repeat offenses and sentenced him to six years in prison." Sentencing algorithms have apparently been in use for 10 years.
His attorneys claim that the code is "full of holes," including secret criteria and generic decisions that aren't as individually tailored as they have to be. For instance, they'll skew predictions based on your gender or age -- how does that reflect the actual offender...?
[T]he court challenge could force Wisconsin and other states to think about the weight they give to algorithms. While they do hold the promise of both preventing repeat offenses and avoiding excessive sentences for low-threat criminals, the American Civil Liberties Union is worried that they can amplify biases or make mistakes based on imperfect law enforcement data.
The biggest issue seems to be a lack of transparency, which makes it impossible to determine whether convicts actually are receiving fair sentences.
[T]he court challenge could force Wisconsin and other states to think about the weight they give to algorithms. While they do hold the promise of both preventing repeat offenses and avoiding excessive sentences for low-threat criminals, the American Civil Liberties Union is worried that they can amplify biases or make mistakes based on imperfect law enforcement data.
The biggest issue seems to be a lack of transparency, which makes it impossible to determine whether convicts actually are receiving fair sentences.
Can we close the comments section now please he said everything we need
Having the computer show compassion is easy.
if (criminal.gender == female & criminal.attractive == true)
showCompassion = true;
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Having the computer show compassion is easy.
if (criminal.gender == female & criminal.attractive == true)
showCompassion = true;
that looks like the algorithm they use in custody battles.
lucm, indeed.
My compiler says that criminal.attractive is undefined. Can you post the code for that property so that the system knows what attractive is.
Also, I think criminal.gender is deprecated. These days, I think you're suppose to use criminal.birthGender or criminal.identifiedGender.