Chinese scientists have developed a machine with artificial intelligence (AI), capable of performing the function of a prosecutor and letting it, autonomously, characterize, recommend and decide charges for common crimes, such as credit card fraud, operation of bad luck, dangerous driving, intentional injury, obstruction of official functions, theft and vandalism.
The AI “prosecutor” can file a charge with more than 97% accuracy based on a verbal description of the case, according to the researchers. The machine was built and tested by the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, the country's largest and busiest district attorney's office. Technology can reduce prosecutors' daily workload, allow them to focus on more difficult tasks, according to Professor Shi Yong, director of the big data and knowledge management laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is the principal project scientist.
“The system can replace prosecutors in the decision-making process to some extent,” Shi and his colleagues said in an article published this month in the journal Management Review.
The application of AI technology in law enforcement has been increasing worldwide. Some German prosecutors have used AI technology such as image recognition and digital forensics to increase the speed and accuracy of case processing. Prosecutors in China were early adopters when they started using AI in 2016. Many of them now use an AI tool known as System 206. The tool can assess the strength of evidence, conditions for an arrest and how dangerous a suspect is. is considered for the public.
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But all existing AI tools have a limited role, because "they don't participate in the decision-making process of actions and suggestion of sentences," Shi and colleagues said.
Making such decisions would require a machine to identify and remove any content from a case file that is irrelevant to a crime, without removing useful information. The machine would also need to convert complex and ever-changing human language into a standard mathematical or geometric format that a computer could understand. Chinese Internet companies have developed powerful tools for natural language processing, but operating them often requires large computers that developers don't have access to.
Some Chinese cities have used machines to monitor government officials' social circles and activities to detect corruption, according to researchers involved.
Many Chinese courts have been using AI to help judges process case files and make decisions like accepting or rejecting an appeal. Most Chinese prisons have also adopted AI technology to track the physical and mental state of prisoners, with the aim of reducing violence.
