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Faizan Zafar

Product @ ATOSS | RWTH

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This paper targets the ethical implications and arguments revolving around the use of recidivism prediction tools and sentencing software (commonly existing as a singular entity), in the criminal justice system. I present my normative stance, in correlation with the literature, of why I consider it immoral for the legal system to be influenced by these highly complex algorithms, whose reasoning process is out of the bounds of human rationale. I argue about the horrific prospect of algorithmic biases in recidivism prediction and sentencing in criminal proceedings. I debate on the issue that these sophisticated algorithms give birth to moral biases. I go on to present my arguments on a specific application area pertaining to the proceedings of homicide cases. Additionally, I dive into the legal and public questions raised by the use of risk assessment software in sentencing decisions.

Term Paper