In what might be the plot of a dystopian novel or something inspired by the Minority Report, it has been revealed that the United Kingdom government has been allegedly developing a "murder prediction" tool that will identify potential murderers even before they commit any crime whatsoever. To fulfill that goal, the UK government allegedly used sensible data of hundreds of thousands of people.
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According to The Guardian, it is alleged that the UK government is using data belonging to thousands of individuals. This, reportedly, would allow the tool to predict and pinpoint people who might be more prone to committing murder.
Statewatch, a charity that researches and analyzes policies in favor of civil liberties and human rights, revealed that the UK's Ministry of Justice had been running this project in secret. Referred to as the Homicide Prediction Project, the algorithm allegedly used data from the MoJ and British police. It is estimated that data belonging to 100,000 to 500,000 people was used to help develop the tool.
Among the people whose data was used to fuel the homicide risk assessment tool, there are homicide victims, suspects, missing people, and many others. Furthermore, the data also includes people's mental health information, including reports of addiction, self-harm, and even suicide.
Tool Predictions
In addition to the Homicide Prediction Project, Statewatch also mentioned a tool called the Offender Assessment System (OASys). Reportedly, this tool offers predictions, which are then handed to judges. This then could influence their "sentencing decisions, prison categorisation, and also influence probation decisions."
One of Statewatch's researchers, Sofia Lylall, denounced the reported murder prediction algorithm.
"The Ministry of Justice's attempt to build this murder prediction system is the latest chilling and dystopian example of the government's intent to develop so-called crime 'prediction' systems," Lylall said.
"Time and again, research shows that algorithmic systems for 'predicting' crime are inherently flawed. Yet the government is pushing ahead with AI systems that will profile people as criminals before they've done anything."
Lylall asked the Ministry of Justice to defer from developing the tool and instead "invest in genuinely supportive welfare services." Furthermore, Lyllal further criticized the tool for using data that has been influenced by "institutionally racist police and Home Office."
