Criminal Justice Major? Explore Artificial Intelligence Technology
AI in Law Enforcement
Many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) offer criminal justice majors. If you are already in or considering a criminal justice major, you should increase your awareness of the potential uses of artificial intelligence (AI) technology by law enforcement professionals. For example, facial recognition is just one of the ways that artificial intelligence technology is becoming widely used in law enforcement even despite potential challenges that raise ethical questions.
Social Ramifications of AI in Law Enforcement
Some argue that when AI technologies are applied it can either violate privacy and propagate disparate impacts on black and brown people and women. Experts have expressed concerns that facial recognition technology in its current form could increase bias and lead to misidentification. These issues are currently under scrutiny by civic groups like the ACLU and other nonprofits who are monitoring advances on behalf of demographic minorities.
For example, WSJ reports that Axon Enterprises, makers of body cameras and tasers, who were considering incorporating face recognition technology have decided not to pause their project at this time. The decision was based, in part, on studies from the National Institute for Standards and Technology. The studies showed that although face recognition experts improved their own performance when aided by AI technology, the error rate, given conditions such as poor lighting, camera angles and movement, could be as high as 20%.
So, for college students interested in criminal justice majors, it is an important time to be looking at how technology could be impacting future careers in this field. Start reading more about how artificial intelligence technology could impact jobs in law enforcement as well as some of the broader societal implications for the technology.
Hopefully, if you are in a criminal justice major you will be discussing some of these issues on your college campuses and watching closely for impact on black and brown communities as the technology evolves.
As your program proceeds, keep your options open for possibly completing a minor in a Technology program as well.
Here are a few articles of interest:
Criminal Justice Job Titles to Explore if You are Into Technology
Remember that declaring a college major is only the first step towards career preparation. With the changes in technology, a lot can happen between when you start college and when you graduate. Students who stay aware of career and industry changes as they proceed through their academic programs, will be better prepared at graduation.