Unilink, a tech company that works in the public sector and helps in areas such a probation and prison services, has formed a partnership with the University of Warwick to explore how AI can predict prisoner behaviour.
The project, led by Professor Theo Damoulas, will explore how AI can be used to ‘analyse justice system data to improve safety, rehabilitation outcomes and operational decision-making in prisons and probation services’.
The research will focus on three core objectives:
‘First, it will apply AI to identify behavioural trends in custody environments, helping staff target interventions and programmes more effectively.
Second, it will investigate how predictive modelling can support early intervention, allowing staff to identify and respond to potential risks of violence and self-harm at an earlier stage.
Finally, the project will explore how ethical and explainable AI models can be developed.’
This is all a long way from the world of City law firms and how they’re thinking about using AI, but nevertheless it could have an impact on society.
It’s also a little scary too, as one wonders what decisions AI systems will come to when they’re deciding whether someone should be allowed to leave prison, or not, or if a particular person needs special attention and extra restraints on their freedom, or not. But, on the flip-side, it could also help to reduce harmful incidents inside prison and while former prisoners are on probation. As ever, it’s an area with a lot of ethical considerations – something the partnership will pay attention to.
The project will involve an academic team from Warwick combined with subject matter experts from Unilink. They will focus on practical, real-world applications of AI, with an emphasis on insights that can inform frontline operations, they noted.
Francis Toye, CEO of Unilink, said: ‘This partnership represents a significant step forward in our mission to deliver digital solutions that genuinely improve lives. We’ve long believed the justice sector deserves access to the same kind of ethical, high-impact innovation seen in health and education, and this project lets us apply AI in a way that’s both technically advanced and socially responsible and also represents a superb collaboration between business and academia.’
And Professor Damoulas from the University of Warwick, commented: ‘I am genuinely delighted to be supporting this initiative with Unilink and our machine learning teams and we are hopeful that we can make a positive contribution to the application of AI for improving the operation of Justice in the UK and worldwide.’
Just goes to show that although most of the attention around legal AI is on the commercial side of things, AI is also going to seep into the broader justice sector as well – and these are early days for such projects. More will surely arrive, bringing with it opportunities and also new risks.
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