AI Integration in Law Enforcement and Courts: Navigating Accountability and Extending Human Rights to Autonomous Systems

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in various sectors like technology, law enforcement, and courts presents unique challenges regarding accountability, the extension of “human” rights to autonomous systems, and the interplay between the Constitution and nonhuman intelligences. It is crucial for the courts to consider how traditional human rights, responsibilities, and legal frameworks apply to these machines in the context of the Constitution.

The widespread use of facial recognition technology by U.S. police is a prime example of how AI tools can conduct extensive searches and generate results that may be difficult to interpret or justify, even if they appear to be accurate. Law enforcement officials using this technology often struggle to provide a clear explanation of how decisions are made, and there have been cases of wrongful arrests and an exacerbation of racial biases in arrests due to its use.

In fact, Clearview AI alone has been deployed for such purposes close to a million times. This raises important questions about the accountability of these technologies and their impact on individual rights and freedoms. For instance, if an AI tool selects a particular individual for law enforcement action without any human oversight or examination of the decision-making process, it becomes challenging to determine whether this was done fairly or justly.

Moreover, there is also the issue of extending human rights to autonomous systems. While it may be tempting to treat these machines as mere tools that do not require protection under human rights laws, this approach ignores the potential consequences of granting them such protections. For example, if an AI system is granted the same protections as humans under labor laws or anti-discrimination laws, it could lead to unintended consequences that could harm individuals or society as a whole.

Overall, while AI has many potential benefits across various sectors, it is essential for policymakers and legal professionals to carefully consider its implications before integrating it into our systems and institutions. We must ensure that our legal frameworks are designed in a way that protects individual rights and freedoms while also taking into account the complexities of interacting with nonhuman intelligences.