Will the use of artificial intelligence (AI) make the world be useful to combat sex crimes — or will it lead to the mistaken prosecution of innocent people?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and sex crimes don’t seem to intuitively go together. However, some enterprising tech companies are trying to connect the dots. AI is being used to leverage machine learning algorithms, visual recognition tools and natural language processing; all in an attempt to identify potential abusers. Technology has shown us time and again that it is only as accurate as the data it receives.
Pros and cons of AI involvement in sex crimes
Across the world, AI is being implemented in creative and potentially harmful ways. The following three AIs highlight the complexities:
- Nex AI: This service uses AI to comb through and monitor a company’s documents, chats and emails looking for evidence of sexual harassment. This could proactively detect an alleged harasser before anyone complains — but it could also misunderstand sarcasm, inside jokes and harmless banter among co-workers.
- Callisto: This use of AI is aimed at detecting sexual assault and identifying repeat offenders on college campuses. Callisto uses matching technology to look for patterns in reports of alleged sexual assault to identify the perpetrator. This technology was been widely accepted in US universities but there’s no guarantee that it’s accurate. Misidentification could wreck someone’s life.
- Botler AI: This AI has been fed more than three million case documents of sexual assault from the USA and Canada. With this data set, Botler AI determines if an event classifies as sexual harassment. It seems strange that someone would need AI to tell them if they were victimized.
AI is being implemented so fast and in so many unprecedented ways, time and experience will show its shortcomings.
If you’re facing sex crime charges of any kind, take immediate steps to ensure that your rights are protected.