Join Katia Schwerzmann, visiting scholar in the Comparative Literature and Literary Theory Program, as she discusses her latest research on algorithms and sentencing.
Algorithms called "assessment tools" are widely used in the U.S. criminal justice system for judicial decision-making regarding rehabilitative programs, probation and parole, but also more recently for sentencing. The declared goal is to reduce recidivism and increase public safety. The use of algorithmic tools to help determine the sentence of an offender is a recent trend and as I aim to show, an extremely problematic one. In my talk, I will demonstrate that this use of algorithms not only goes against basic principles of justice but also conforms reality to prediction.
Location: Meyerson Conference Center, Van Pelt Library, room 223
All welcome. Refreshments will be served.