Extralegal

How do we want extended intelligence to be, and who will watch over that? In this final episode, we talk about a man named James Vacca—a former New York City Councilmember and the first person to ever try to answer these questions with legislation. We examine Vacca’s proposed reforms for autonom-ish systems used in New York, investigate the outcomes of his proposal, and discuss what this means for the future.

We know that the advancement of technology, more often than not, moves at a faster pace than our ability to legislate or regulate it. So in this episode we take a step back, and hear from someone who is mindfully and proactively contextualizing the social and ethical implications of these systems—to predict where it will all go.

The advancement of technology, like an epidemic, doesn’t stay neatly within national borders. So if no single government can address the impact on its own, what do we do?

In this episode, we explore power. Specifically, how the deeply-rooted (and often subtle) structures of power in our society inform the ways in which we develop autonom-ish systems.

How can you regulate something you can’t define? In this episode, we explore the meaning of the term “artificial intelligence,” and explore what the landscape of AI research looks like today.

Predictive autonom-ish tools are used in almost every aspect of our lives, from determining what movie to recommend—to deciding who should go to jail and for how long. Ultimately, they are designed with the intended purpose of making our lives better and easier. But what happens when they backfire?

What does a sentencing algorithm, a Hollywood movie, and the Supreme Court have in common? As it turns out, more than you’d think. In the final epilogue of The Precogs Are Here, we discuss these three things – and how to work towards improving our legal system.

Artificial Intelligence technology is intelligent, no doubt – hence the name. But does it always work? In this episode, we explore the possible limitations of predictive algorithms, and what to do about it when we find them.

In this episode, we discuss the case of Eric L. Loomis, and explore the societal context in which it was brought to (but never formally heard in) the United States Supreme Court.

What do you think people are more afraid of – human bias, or algorithmic justice? Extralegal’s first-ever podcast miniseries, The Precogs Are Here, takes a deep dive into the nexus of artificial intelligence and law to find out.