Shift AI was a success, connecting hundreds of professionals that were eager to propel the progress of AI and discuss the newest technologies in data mining, machine learning and neural networks. More at https://ai.shiftconf.co/. Talk description: A daily scan of news headlines shows that technology has become invasive and pervasive in every aspect of modern civil life. The increasing use of artificial intelligence technology by law enforcement and criminal justice institutions is raising serious issues for civil liberties and social justice. “Bad data” disproportionately targets already marginalized populations that have faced historical systemic discrimination. This discussion will touch on the consequences of the current application of Artificial Intelligence technology on initiatives to achieve equity and justice in our civil institutions.

1. CAN CIVIL LIBERTIES
SURVIVE THE ERA OF AI?
KAIRAN QUAZI
FOLLOW ME! TWITTER@KAIRANQUAZI1 INSTAGRAM@THEPYTHONKAIRAN
SHIFT AI VIRTUAL CONFERENCE, APRIL 21, 2020

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Photo: “Terminator” - AFP/20th Century Fox

3. Headlines Written by Orwell!
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"Commit a crime? Your Fitbit, key fob or pacemaker could snitch on you"
(Jouvenal, J. 2017, Oct 9. Washington Post)
"Doorbell-camera firm Ring has partnered with 400 police forces"
(Harwell, D. 2019, Aug 28. Washington Post)
"Police think Amazon’s Alexa may have information on a fatal stabbing
case"
(Epstein, K. 2019, Nov 2. Washington Post)

4. Amazon Rekognition’s Big “Oopsie”!
"Amazon’s Face
Recognition Falsely
Matched 28 Members of
Congress With
Mugshots"
(Snow, J. 2018, July 26.
ACLU)
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5. Prevailing Law Enforcement Tools
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• FACIAL RECOGNITION
• PREDICTIVE RISK ASESSMENT MODELS
• CRIME PREVENTION SOFTWARE

6. Predictive Risk Assessment Models:
Data Points
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100 DATA POINTS USED, INCLUDING:
• ANY PRIOR INTERACTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
• PRIOR CONVICTIONS
• SUBSTANCE USE
• CRIMINAL HISTORY OF ASSOCIATES

7. Black Female Defendant
 Crime: Stole Bicycle
 Prior Offenses: None
 Recidivism Score: 8/10
White Male Defendant
 Crime: Armed Robbery
 Prior Offenses: Served 5 Years for
Previous Armed Robbery
 Recidivism Score: 3/10
Predictive Risk Assessment Models:
ProPublica Case Study of COMPAS (2016)
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Black Defendants Compared to White Defendants
 2x likelier to receive higher Recidivism Scores
 77% more likely to receive higher Recidivism Scores for violent crimes

8. If Hannah Fry Asked You…
“If you were accused of a crime, who would you rather
decide your sentence – a mathematically consistent
algorithm incapable of empathy or a compassionate
human judge prone to bias and error?”
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- Hannah Fry, Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms (2018)

9. Bad Inputs Bad Outputs
“Since predictive algorithms are based on finding patterns in historical
data, skewed inputs generate skewed outputs. For example, since our
criminal justice system has historically incarcerated minorities
disproportionately for every category of crime, any predictive algorithms
that law enforcement uses for criminal identification and recidivism
patterns will only perpetuate this problem”
- Kairan Quazi, MIT Technology Review (August 2019)
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10. “Hello World”: Demand Better
“It’s about breaking open the algorithms and finding
their limits…about separating the harm from the good
and deciding what kind of world we want to live in.
Because the future doesn’t just happen. We create it.”
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- Hannah Fry, Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms (2018)