Good question. I think that it was probably around for a few years. They were hinting at stuff like this for a while. They have been doing a lot of precog type software work, as well as interesting AI / psychosis research. The story itself is pretty old.
I remember reading the requirements for a major at San Francisco State a while back that was a psychology / computer science/ engineering degree. (Finish it and you would have a MA in all 3.) There were a couple of others. The only job that I could think of for that combination had to be AI research. On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 3:17 AM, Martin Baxter <martinbaxt...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > I wonder how long this has been around without us knowing it... > > > On Thu, Aug 26, 2010 at 4:08 AM, Mr. Worf <hellomahog...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> >> >> Software Predicts Who Will Commit Crime >> >> By Boyce Watkins, >> PhD<http://www.bvblackspin.com/bloggers/boyce-watkins-phd/> on >> Aug 25th 2010 1:16PM >> Filed under: News <http://www.bvblackspin.com/category/news/>, >> Politics<http://www.bvblackspin.com/category/politics/> >> , Race and Civil >> Rights<http://www.bvblackspin.com/category/race-and-civil-rights/> >> >> Comments >> (5)<http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/08/25/software-will-be-used-to-predict-who-will-commit-crime/?omcamp=EMC-CVNL#commentsInline> >> Print >> [image: The real Minority Report: U.S. police trial computer software >> that The real minority report: U.S. police software predicts who is most >> likely to commit crime] >> >> It is being reported that law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., >> plan to use a new computer program that claims to be able to predict which >> citizens are most likely to commit crime. The concept conjures up images of >> the *Tom Cruise* film "*Minority Report*," where agents were able to >> predict "pre-crime": crime that hasn't happened yet and is set to occur. But >> far from science fiction, this program is actually based on reality. >> >> The program was developed by *Richard Berk*, a professor at *The >> University of Pennsylvania*. The first version of the program was used to >> predict future murders among parolees, but it is being argued that the >> software can be used for all kinds of crime. >> >> "When a person goes on probation or parole they are supervised by an >> officer. The question that officer has to answer is 'what level of >> supervision do you provide?'" Berk told* ABC News*. >> >> The program could have real implications, including determining the amount >> of a person's bail or how long they are to remain in a halfway house upon >> their release from prison. The program works by using a large database of >> crimes and other factors, including geographic location, age, prior offenses >> and the criminal record of the person being considered. >> >> This is not the only kind of technology used to predict crime. Some >> departments actually use brain scanners to predict someone's intentions >> before they act. Apparently, changes in brain chemistry can communicate >> hostility toward the person being discussed by the possible offender. >> >> All of this seems to represent a very interesting brave new world. I am >> not sure what to think about the use of computer algorithms to categorize >> people based on the likelihood of deviant behavior. I can say that judges >> have, for centuries, used ad hoc measures to determine the length of a >> sentence and level of bail for inmates. Also, parole boards use their own >> predictors to decide if a person should be released from prison or not. It >> seems that computer programs are simply the next step. While I am disturbed >> by these programs, their presence seems almost inevitable. >> >> One also can't deny the influence of race in these kinds of decisions. >> While I am sure the program doesn't use race as an explicit variable in its >> calculations, there are several factors highly correlated with race that >> could also be used in such a program, such as income, geographic location or >> education level. I am hopeful that the*American Civil Liberties Union* (ACLU) >> will keep an eye on how such programs are used. >> >> While the use of this program can certainly be criticized, there is also >> the truth that there are some occasions when one can see prison in the >> pipeline for a misguided young person. I once told a friend of mine that if >> she didn't intervene more deeply in to her son's life, he would end up in >> the penitentiary, since prison beds are kept nice and warm for uneducated >> black boys who have nothing to do. I knew then that based upon his location >> in his city, there were far too many ways for him to get in to trouble with >> his friends. Two years later, he was in jail for his first offense, and he >> was in prison shortly thereafter. >> >> So, most of us must admit that there are ways to predict who among us >> might be most at risk. The question is what we choose to do with that >> information: Do we use it to simply protect the rich from the poor, or do we >> use it to help that person before it's too late? Perhaps the ACLU, *NAACP >> * and other concerned parties should access this information as much as >> the police. >> >> > > > -- > "If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell > wrote the script?" -- Charles E Grant > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik > > > >
