Chinese scientists develop AI prosecutor that can press its own charges

Researchers from China say they are the first in the world to develop a machine that can charge people with crimes using artificial intelligence.

According to the researchers, the AI prosecutor can file charges with over 97% accuracy based on a verbal description of a case. The algorithm was created and tested by the Shanghai Pudong People's Procuratorate, the largest and busiest district prosecutor's office in the country.

According to Professor Shi Yong, director of the Laboratory of Big Data and Knowledge Management at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the project's lead scientist, the technology could reduce the daily workload of prosecutors, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.

"The system can, to a certain extent, replace prosecutors in the decision-making process," Shi said in an article published in the internal peer-reviewed journal Management Review. The use of artificial intelligence in law enforcement is growing around the world.

Some German prosecutors have used artificial intelligence technologies, such as image recognition and digital forensics, to speed up and improve the accuracy of case processing.

Chinese prosecutors were the first to begin using AI in 2016. Many of them now use an AI tool known as "System 206." The tool can assess the strength of evidence, arrest conditions, and how dangerous a suspect is considered to be to society.

However, all existing AI tools play a limited role, because "they do not take part in the decision-making process on bringing charges and recommending sentences." 

Making such decisions would require a machine to identify and remove any content in case materials that is not relevant to the crime, without deleting useful information. The algorithm would also need to convert complex and constantly changing human language into a standard mathematical or geometric format that a computer can understand.

Chinese internet companies have developed powerful natural language processing tools, but they often require large computers that prosecutors do not have access to.

The AI prosecutor developed by Shi's team can run on a desktop computer. For each suspect, it will file charges based on 1,000 "characteristic features" extracted from a human-written case description, most of which are too small or abstract to make sense to people. "System 206" then evaluates the evidence.

Between 2015 and 2020, the machine was "trained" on more than 17,000 cases. To date, it can identify and file charges for the eight most common crimes in Shanghai:

• credit card fraud
• organizing gambling
  
• dangerous driving
  
• intentional injury
  
• obstructing official duties
  
• theft
  
• fraud
  
• "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" (a catch-all charge often used to suppress dissent)
  

Shi and his colleagues said the AI prosecutor will soon become more capable through updates. It will be able to recognize less common crimes and file multiple charges against a single suspect. A prosecutor from the southern city of Guangzhou said he has some concerns about using AI to file charges.

"A 97% accuracy rate may be high from a technological standpoint, but there will always be a chance of error. Who will take responsibility when that happens? The prosecutor, the machine, or the algorithm developer?" said a prosecutor who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Direct AI involvement in decision-making could also affect the autonomy of prosecutors. A prosecutor from Guangzhou said most prosecutors do not want computer scientists to "interfere" in judicial decisions.

Another problem is that the AI prosecutor can only file charges based on its past experience. It is unable to anticipate public reaction to a case in a changing social environment. "AI can help detect an error, but it cannot replace a human in making a decision," the prosecutor said.

Still, China is actively using AI across almost all sectors of government to try to improve efficiency, reduce corruption, and strengthen control. According to the researchers, some Chinese cities have used machines to track the social circles and activities of civil servants in order to detect corruption.

Many Chinese courts use AI to help judges process cases and make decisions, such as accepting or rejecting an appeal. Most Chinese prisons have also introduced AI technology to monitor the physical and mental condition of inmates in order to reduce violence.

In addition, across China, AI systems are used for total surveillance of citizens. For example, in November 2021 it became known that authorities in China's Henan province had created a facial recognition system to track "dangerous" journalists and other "troublesome people." The system is also designed to track female migrants. It is being integrated with the National Immigration Bureau, the Ministry of Public Security, and the police of Henan province.