Squat and Squabble

Conflicting viewpoints on topical subjects

  • Latest Posts
  • USA Politics
  • Other Stuff
  • Pop’s Pearls of Wisdom
  • Southpaw’s Ramblings
  • About Us

Incarceration? There’s an App for that!

May 1, 2017 by Pops Leave a Comment

Did you know that a commercial software program is being used by judges to predict whether or not some criminal defendants should be punished more harshly than others?

A product called Compas, sold by Northpointe Inc., is routinely used by courts to predict which criminals will be repeat offenders, and which ones won’t. And some experts have concluded that if the defendant is black, the predictions are consistently against them. What is even worse is that the algorithms used to predict future criminal behavior by the software are kept secret, and defendants and their attorneys have no access to the basis for the “evidence” being used by the prosecution.  Software predictions can persuade a judge away from giving you probation, to sentencing you to a prison term, and it is happening – frequently.

White Defendant is Low Risk to Re-offend

The U.S. Supreme court has agreed to hear just such a case, where the use of the software sent a defendant to a longer prison term.

This is scary, on many levels. Self-driving cars are one thing, but now the judge in your case may be getting advice from a PC, or perhaps even delegating his decision to a commercial app, before sentencing.

Black Defendant is High Risk to Re-offend

Some people may think that it is good to use objective software, rather than a human being, to predict your behavior. I disagree.   Software is written by people, and human subjectivity always finds a way into human endeavors.

Racist software? Bigoted bytes? Secret algorithms?  Minority Report or 1984, or both?

Sentenced by Software

Read the articles below and see if what you discover doesn’t totally creep you out.

Sent to Prison by a Software Program’s Secret Algorithms (NY Times)

Machine Bias (Pro Publica)

Tweet

Filed Under: Other Stuff

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Log In

Please log into the site.

Search

RSS Fox News

  • Miami Black leaders apologize to Gov. Ron DeSantis after a member called him racist
    Black leaders in Miami apologized to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after one of its members called him a racist in response to his actions related to content in schools.
  • White House economic advisor cites job report as proof U.S. is 'not recessionary'
    In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," White House Economic Adviser Jared Bernstein said that the January job report proves the U.S. is not in a recession.
  • Pete Buttigieg says Biden handled Chinese spy balloon 'appropriately' amid backlash from Republicans
    Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to President Biden's defense on Sunday when asked about the Chinese spy balloon, saying it was "handled appropriately."
  • Rubio says Biden waiting to tell American public about Chinese balloon a ‘dereliction of duty’
    Senator Marco Rubio said Sunday that President Biden's "dereliction of duty" on dealing with the Chinese spy balloon started with his failure to inform the American public.
  • Virginia GOP star vows to end Democrat 'roadblock' of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's agenda
    Republican Virginia Delegate and state Senate candidate Emily Brewer has is vowing to end Democrats' roadblock of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's agenda.
  • Trump, top national security officials refute claim that Chinese spy balloons transited US under last admin
    EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump and a number of his top national security and defense officials refuted Biden administration officials' claims that Chinese surveillance balloons briefly transited the continental United States during the Trump administration, saying it “never happened.”
  • Cotton says spy balloon morphed into trial balloon testing Biden's strength: 'the president failed'
    Senate Intellifence Committee member Sen. Tom Cotton warned that President Biden failed a test of his strength by allowing a Chinese spy balloon to fly across the U.S.
  • Rep. Mike Rogers offers succinct GOP assessment of Chinese spy flight
    House Armed Services Committee chairman Mike Rogers blasted President Biden for his handling of the Chinese spy balloon incident Sunday, demanding answers from the White House.

RSS CNN International

  • Beijing protests after US jets shoot down Chinese balloon suspected of spying
  • Beijing protests after US jets shoot down a Chinese balloon suspected of spying
  • LeBron James close to breaking NBA all-time scoring record
    LeBron James finished with 27 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 131-126 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday, leaving the 38-year-old needing 36 points to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA all-time scoring record.
  • Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai
    Pakistan's former President General Pervez Musharraf has died in Dubai after a prolonged illness at Dubai American Hospital, according to a statement from the Pakistani military.
  • How to see February's full snow moon
    Look in the night sky this weekend for February's full moon, where it can be glimpsed around the world.
  • China says the US is 'seriously violating international practice'
    China expresses"strong dissatisfaction and protest" against Washington's decision to shoot down its balloon, accusing it of "overreacting" and "seriously violating international practice."
  • US authorities found young dolphin's skull inside unattended bag at a Detroit airport
    Federal authorities made a grim and unexpected discovery in an unattended bag last week at a Detroit airport.
  • Bitter harvest of freedom and victory as Kherson suffers Russian bombardment
    Gone are the acres of jubilant crowds that filled Freedom Square with blue and yellow Ukrainian flags that swayed like heads of wheat when the Russians were driven out. Now the crack-crunch of Russian artillery eating into the city echoes around the plaza.

Archives

  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in