Explaining AI in Policing

It is crucial that police leaders explain to the communities they serve the technology their organizations use to be more effective. Doing so fosters public trust and confidence in the police and reduces fears and misconceptions. It also fosters a collaborative environment and being transparent about the AI use advances accountability. Police can show their commitment to ethical practice by clearly articulating AI strategies. This will help ensure that AI is used for enhancing public safety without violating individual rights. By engaging the public to discuss AI use, police agencies can gain valuable feedback that will allow them to improve their methods and address local concerns.

The optimal time to explain the use of AI is before the technology is implemented. There will certainly be occasions where this may not be possible. However, trying to affect the public’s understanding and acceptance of sophisticated, potentially troublesome technology like AI after the public learns of its use by the police is almost always fraught with problems and challenges that could have been avoided with proper prior planning.

In this section, we examine the dynamics of explaining the increasingly wide breadth of AI use cases that impact policing and attempt to make the case that police leaders should co-produce the decisions around their use of AI to control crime and disorder with the public.