Governing the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Federal Criminal Justice (810C)
This policy lab will develop and analyze a framework for governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the federal criminal justice system. The lab’s client will be the Council on Criminal Justice’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (“CCJ Task Force”), a nonpartisan, non-governmental initiative created to develop standards and evidence-based recommendations to guide the safe, ethical, and effective use of AI in the criminal justice system.
The goals of the CCJ Task Force are:
- to develop governing principles for AI use in various areas of criminal justice,
- to create product and procurement standards, and
- to develop example case studies.
The lab, in turn, will analyze various structures and mechanisms by which Congress and the Executive Branch can take the CCJ Task Force’s work product and use it to develop and implement specific, granular, and actionable policies for use by federal criminal justice agencies in the procurement and deployment of AI systems, and then to review those policies as the technology and applications continue to evolve.
Students will work in small teams to research and evaluate different frameworks that have been used in the past to assist Congress and the Executive Branch in novel, complex, or rapidly changing policy areas. These teams may, for example, study the work of the National Forensic Science Commission, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (the “Simpson-Bowles Commission”), the U.S. Sentencing Commission, or the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. Student teams will research the structure of each, how members and staff were chosen, their internal dynamics, the effectiveness of policies that came out of these entities, and more. The lab will meet remotely with members and staff of the CCJ Task Force during the term and will develop a White Paper memorializing the research completed and recommendations, and the research teams will present findings and recommendations to CCJ Task Force members and staff. After the term begins, students can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructor.
Elements used in grading: Attendance, performance, class participation, written assignments.
CONSENT APPLICATION: To apply for this course, students must complete a Consent Application Form available at SLS Registrar.
