'We're treating algorithms as if they're infallible and true arbiters of how people are going to behave, when of course they're nothing of the sort,' Venkatasubramanian said.Ĭhicago's Police Department program has used artificial intelligence to identify people at high risk of gun violence, but a 2016 Rand Corporation study found the tactic was ineffective. Related: The inevitable rise of the robocopsīut that lesson isn't widely understood with today's crime prediction systems, Venkatasubramanian argues. While trying to prove his innocence, Cruise learns that the cyborgs lack consistent judgment. In 'Minority Report,' the local police department's psychic cyborgs conclude the film's main character, played by Tom Cruise, will commit a murder. 'Every chief has to answer the unanswerable question, 'What are you doing about crime rates?'' 'Police agencies are adopting this technology because the lure of black box policing is so attractive,' Ferguson said.

Ferguson - a professor at the University of District Columbia law school and author of the upcoming book 'The Rise of Big Data Policing' - police departments are drawn to the technology's potential as a quick fix seen as objective and trustworthy.

'Minority Report has become less of a cautionary tale and more of a blueprint, especially in predictive policing,' said Suresh Venkatasubramanian, a computer science professor at the University of Utah.Īccording to Andrew G. 'Minority Report' debuted in theaters 15 years ago this week.

The film served as a cautionary tale of the dangers of technology, but that isn't its legacy.

Monity report