Unsurprisingly, as attention to (and the use of) algorithmic tools increases a diverse set of complex issues emerges. This is especially true in the criminal law space. While the relevant technical empirical literature continues to grow and develop, a recent paper by Aziz Huq (Chicago), Racial Equity in Algorithmic Criminal Justice, helpfully "addresses the legal and moral dimensions of predictive algorithmic criminal justice tools that pertain to racial equity." The paper's abstract follows.
"Algorithmic tools for predicting violence and criminality are increasingly used in policing, bail, and sentencing contexts. Although some attention has been given to their procedural due process implications, how these instruments interact with the enduring and complex racial legacies of the criminal justice system is presently not well understood. This Article analyzes the questions of racial equity raised by these new predictive instruments using two lenses: constitutional doctrine and emerging technical standards of “algorithmic fairness.” I demonstrate that constitutional doctrine is poorly adapted to addressing the range of racial issues that potentially arise with algorithmic criminal justice. Instead, I demonstrate that the difficult questions of racial equity in this domain are best framed and evaluated though certain, but not all, emerging technical standards of algorithmic fairness."
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