Washington (AFP) - The Chicago police department is using a unique algorithm in its battle against armed violence, to figure out who is most likely to be involved in a shooting, either as a victim or perpetrator.
The computer program takes into account various factors such as criminal records, gang affiliations, gunshot wounds already suffered, or the number of past arrests.
Its evaluations are used to create a database called the "Strategic Subject List," which is supposed to help police battle the bloodshed in the city brought on by retaliatory gang violence.
But the exact nature of the criteria used by the predictive algorithm is secret and controversial. The program's principal designer Miles Wernick of the Illinois Institute of Technology, did not respond when contacted by AFP.
Critics say the secretive system violates freedoms by stigmatizing people as having an "alleged propensity for violence."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chicago-police-algorithm-combat-gun-violence-194450241.html?nhp=1
Minority report?
The computer program takes into account various factors such as criminal records, gang affiliations, gunshot wounds already suffered, or the number of past arrests.
Its evaluations are used to create a database called the "Strategic Subject List," which is supposed to help police battle the bloodshed in the city brought on by retaliatory gang violence.
But the exact nature of the criteria used by the predictive algorithm is secret and controversial. The program's principal designer Miles Wernick of the Illinois Institute of Technology, did not respond when contacted by AFP.
Critics say the secretive system violates freedoms by stigmatizing people as having an "alleged propensity for violence."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chicago-police-algorithm-combat-gun-violence-194450241.html?nhp=1
Minority report?
