Argentina’s security forces have announced plans to use artificial intelligence to “predict future crimes” in a move experts have warned could threaten citizens’ rights.
The country’s far-right president Javier Milei this week created the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit, which the legislation says will use “machine-learning algorithms to analyse historical crime data to predict future crimes”. It is also expected to deploy facial recognition software to identify “wanted persons”, patrol social media, and analyse real-time security camera footage to detect suspicious activities.
While the ministry of security has said the new unit will help to “detect potential threats, identify movements of criminal groups or anticipate disturbances”, the Minority Report-esque resolution has sent alarm bells ringing among human rights organisations.
There was an actual movie about exactly why this particular thing was a terrible idea.
It’s like, in “Minority Report”, some of these crimes weren’t even premediated crimes, for example the crime they stop at the beginning. The guy was about to stab his wife because he found out she’s been cheating on him. Chances are if given time to process his feelings, he wouldn’t have done it.
And that one could actually see the future and not just go on calculate biased statistics.