Keith White’s story stands at the intersection of human judgment and algorithmic prediction. Arrested in Kentucky, he faced charges that could have left him in jail simply because he couldn’t afford bail. This scenario plays out daily across the U.S.: judges must decide who waits for trial at home and who stays behind bars. Algorithms, trained on vast data, offer predictions to aid these decisions. But as economist Alex Albright notes, when combined with human discretion, these tools can shift the delicate balance of justice.
For the full story on using technology to make criminal justice more just, check out this article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
