TheAlgebraofInfiniteJustice

Title homage to Arundhati Roy, but we explore the computational ethics of the 21st century.

Justice,historically,wasaqualitativepursuit.Ajudgelookedintotheeyesoftheaccused.Ajuryfelttheweightoftheevidence.Itwasmessy,biased,andfundamentallyhuman. Today,weareattemptingtoturnjusticeintoanalgebra.Asolvableequation. Predictivepolicing.AIsentencingguidelines.SocialCreditSystems.

Weassumethatifwefeedenoughdataintothemachine,itwilloutput"Fairness." Butmathematicsdoesnotunderstandmercy.Itonlyunderstandspatterns.

TheVariableofRetribution

Hammurabi’s Code was the first attempt at an algorithm: IF Eye THEN Eye. IF Tooth THEN Tooth. Linear. Proportional. Modern justice is a chaotic system. A teenager stealing a car might get probation or 10 years, depending on the judge's blood sugar level (a real study: "Extraneous factors in judicial decisions").

We want to fix this variance with AI. Let $J$ be Justice.

$$J(x) = sum_{i=1}^{n} w_i cdot f_i(x) + epsilon$$

Where $x$ is the crime, $w$ acts as the weight of circumstances, and $f$ represents the codified law. But what is $w$? Who sets the weights? If the training data for the AI is 100 years of racist court decisions, the AI will learn that being a minority is a predictor of future crime. It doesn't know why. It just sees the correlation. The bias becomes baked into the math, invisible and irrefutable. "The computer said you are high risk."

TheInfiniteLedger

Blockchaintechnologypromisesaworldofimmutablerecord.The"InfiniteLedger." Ifeverytransaction,everyaction,everymistakeisrecordedonanimmutablechain,forgivenessbecomesimpossible. Intheanalogworld,recordsburned.Memoriesfaded.Youcouldmovetoanewtownandstartover. Inthedigitalworld,thepastisperfectlypreserved.Thetweetyousentat15existsat50. Justicerequiresthepossibilityofredemption. Doesanautomatedsystemallowforredemption?Ordoesitsimplyexecutethesmartcontract?

function executeJudgment(address _sinner) public {
    if (karma[_sinner] < 0) {
        banish(_sinner);
    }
}

There is no try/catch block for a human life.

TheTrolleyProbleminHighDefinition

Weareprogrammingautonomousvehiclestomakelife-or-deathdecisions. Thecarisdrivingat60mph.Achildrunsintotheroad.Toavoidthechild,thecarmustswerveintoawall,killingthepassenger. Whatdoesthealgorithmdo?

1. Minimize loss of life? (Kill the passenger, save the child).
2. Protect the owner? (Kill the child, save the passenger).
3. Random choice?

Weareforcingengineerstocodifyethics.Weareassigningafloatvaluetoahumanlife. Ifwedecidethecarshouldstrictlymaximizesurvivalcount,wouldyoubuyacarthatisprogrammedtokillyoutosavetwojaywalkers?Themarketsaysno.Themarketdemandsamachinethatprioritizesthepayer. Thus,the"AlgebraofJustice"becomesthe"ArithmeticofWealth."

InfiniteJustice

Theterm"InfiniteJustice"wastheoriginaloperationalnamefortheUSinvasionofAfghanistan.Itwaschangedbecauseitoffendedreligioussensibilities—onlytheDivinecandispenseinfinitejustice. WearebuildingasecularDivinity.AsiliconGodthatwatches,records,andjudges. Unlikethegodsofold,thisonedoesnotacceptprayer.Itacceptsinputs. Andifyourinputisoutlierdata,youwillbetruncated.