Artificial intelligence is transforming everything from health care to education. A bill looks at how it might be used in Virginia courtrooms.
Imagine the scenario where artificial intelligence helps a court determine bond or calculate a prison sentence. It’s a potential situation Delegate Cliff Hayes, a Democrat from Chesapeake, is concerned about, and that’s why he introduced a bill that would make sure courts have human oversight over AI recommendations and predictions in legal cases.
"The bill just simply says that under no circumstances will these decisions be made with AI tools without human intervention," explains Hayes. "Those who are qualified today will be those same folks who have the opportunity to weigh in."
His bill passed both the House and the Senate and is now under consideration by the governor, although members of the General Assembly raised alarm bells about technology run amok.
"Like the situations that you saw forecasted in the fictional movie 'Minority Report,'" says Republican Senate Leader Ryan McDougle. "Where you had the analytical type of information saying this person is predicted to do this and so they were making decisions based on those predictions, not what the person actually did."
If the governor signs the bill, it would make sure that no decision was based solely on artificial intelligence, and any AI recommendation or prediction would be subject to an objection in court or a challenge on appeal.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
