AI in Criminal Justice: Promoting Safety and Protecting Innovation
Louisiana lawmakers have introduced over 20 bills related to artificial intelligence (AI) this legislative session. Not surprisingly, these bills span across committees and policy areas. AI has left no area untouched and the schools, hospitals, governments, and courts of today must grapple with how and when to adjust and respond to the technology.
The legislature is presently considering two bills that address the criminal charges and punishment for using AI to generate or engage with child sexual abuse material (CSAM), SB 42 and SB 110. SB 42, authored by Senator Rick Edmonds, amends present law against CSAM to specifically include content generated by AI. SB 110, authored by Senator Heather Cloud, also amends current law to specify that it is illegal to use a child’s image to train AI to produce CSAM.
These bills and others like them highlight the challenge faced by lawmakers in the age of AI: ensuring that laws actually protect children from exploitation, while avoiding overly broad restrictions that could unintentionally restrict AI’s improvement in other beneficial contexts, like education or medicine.
Beyond criminal use, AI holds great relevance to the practice of policing and community safety. AI can be used to improve diversion methods for nonviolent 911 calls to ensure that police resources are used responsibly and people get the appropriate help for scenarios like a mental health emergency.
Policy journal Vital City explained in a piece advocating for tailored AI usage by New York police that AI can help train call takers and dispatchers and also develop data-backed criteria for evaluating calls. In addition to improving the 911 response, AI can help improve officer behavior by analyzing the vast data base of body camera footage and selecting portions for more scrutinizing review and feedback. These are but two examples of the possibility AI holds for training and improving the police force and increasing public safety.
As with the laws regarding AI generated material, protocols around the use of AI in policing will require clarity and the prescience that technology is ever changing and evolving. State legislatures must now consider both the risks and benefits of the technology, using smart policy and regulatory clarity to protect the vulnerable and leverage innovation for good.