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Abstract:
Rapid growth in the use of increasingly sophisticated risk assessment tools in criminal justice systems across the United States is due in part to reform efforts undertaken to reduce the country’s extremely high incarceration rates. Other potential advantages of harnessing these tools, some of which already employ AI-based technology, include decreasing the disparities caused by the cash-bail system and providing outcomes at various stages of the criminal process that are fairer and less punitive than those produced by unfettered human decision-makers. Existing studies have not yet shown conclusively that these goals have – or have not – been achieved. In addition, use of AI-based tools implicates fundamental tenets of criminal procedure. As these tools become more prevalent, it remains to be seen how and whether courts and legislators will step up to protect these hard-won principles.
