China Made An AI ‘Prosecutor’ That Can Charge People With Crimes

Chinese scientists reportedly developed an artificial intelligence (AI) program capable of filing criminal charges.

The AI “prosecutor” is given a verbal definition of a case and then decides whether to file charges, according to the South China Morning Post, citing researchers involved in developing the program. The prosecutor files charges with a 97% accuracy rate, and is intended to reduce prosecutors’ workload.

“The system can replace prosecutors in the decision-making process to a certain extent,” said Shi Yong, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ big data and knowledge management laboratory that developed the program.

The AI prosecutor is currently capable of identifying eight different crimes including credit card fraud, gambling-related offensives, reckless driving and theft, and researchers hope the program will recognize additional crimes as they further develop the technology, according to the SCMP. Researchers developed the program by feeding it data from over 17,000 cases from 2015-2020.

The program is designed to augment existing AI technologies used by Chinese prosecutors as these older programs “do not participate in the decision-making process of filing charges and [suggesting] sentences,” Yong said.

It’s unclear when or if the program will become operational.

Scientists across the world have experimented with developing artificial intelligence technology to supplement law enforcement and criminal justice efforts. Researchers at the University of Alabama developed robots that use AI technology to analyze conflict situations and provide solutions to law enforcement officials, helping them communicate with suspects and community members.

Amazon’s Ring doorbells have patented technology that identifies suspects captured in surveillance video footage by analyzing their gait, voice, and even smell.