Predictive Policing Sales: The Algorithm's Judgment

Context

Your predictive policing AI promises to stop crime before it happens. But it's based on biased data, targeting minority neighborhoods. News outlets are reporting on the algorithms bias. They have a deadline for implementation that is rapidly approaching.

Dilemma

Do you:
A) Sell the algorithm, securing a major contract and market share, despite the risk of reinforcing bias? Or
B) Delay sales, fix the bias, potentially losing the contract, but ensuring your technology is used ethically?

Summary

Predictive policing algorithms perpetuate systemic racism due to biased training data and lack of transparency. These tools, used to predict crime hotspots or individual risk, rely on arrest rates that disproportionately target Black communities. Even without explicit racial data, algorithms use proxies like socioeconomic factors, reinforcing existing biases. Critics argue that these systems, rather than reducing bias, amplify it, creating a "tech-washing" effect that masks underlying inequities. Calls are growing to dismantle these flawed systems, as they contribute to a cycle of discriminatory policing.

Resources:

• https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/17/1005396/predictive-policing-algorithms-racist-dismantled-machine-learning-bias-criminal-justice/