Argentina’s security forces have announced plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict future crimes, reminiscent of the dystopian Sibyl System in the anime Psycho-Pass.
This move has sparked concerns about potential threats to citizens’ rights and privacy.
Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei has established the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit. This new unit will utilize machine-learning algorithms to analyze historical crime data to predict future crimes and help prevent them.
In Psycho-Pass, the Sibyl System governs a futuristic Japan by continuously measuring the biometrics of citizens’ brains and mentalities using a “cymatic scan.”
This results in a Psycho-Pass, which includes a numeric Crime Coefficient index revealing the citizen’s criminality potential. When a person’s Crime Coefficient rises above 100, they are labeled as a latent criminal and are either isolated or apprehended by law enforcement.
The Argentine AI initiative, though not monitoring biometrics, bears similarities to the Sibyl System as it also aims to predict and prevent crimes by scourging through data and patterns.
The new AI unit will operate within the Cybercrime and Cyber Affairs Directorate under the Ministry of Security. Its mission includes the following when it comes to crime prediction:
- Using machine-learning algorithms to analyze historical crime data to predict future crimes and help prevent them.
- Identifying unusual patterns in computer networks and detecting cyber threats before attacks occur. This includes identifying malware, phishing, and other forms of cyber attacks.
- Processing large volumes of data from various sources to extract useful information and create suspect profiles or identify links between different cases.
- Analyzing social media activities to detect potential threats, identify movements of criminal groups, or anticipate unrest.
Other functions include using drones for aerial surveillance, deploying robots for dangerous tasks, and improving communication between different security forces.
The resolution claims that the move to integrate AI into security measures mirrors efforts in other countries such as the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, where AI is used for video analysis, crime prediction, and cybersecurity.
Human rights organizations and experts are concerned that Argentina’s AI initiative could lead to excessive monitoring and violations of civil liberties.
The deployment of facial recognition software and the patrolling of social media also raise privacy concerns.
“Large-scale surveillance affects freedom of expression because it encourages people to self-censor or refrain from sharing their ideas or criticisms if they suspect that everything they comment on, post, or publish is being monitored by security forces,” Mariela Belski, the executive director of Amnesty International Argentina told The Guardian.
On top of that there are also concerns that certain sections of the society will be in for intense scrutiny, while there is also a potential for biased or inaccurate outcomes.
While Argentina’s initiative bears eerie similarity to the Sibyl System in Psycho Pass, the anime itself drew inspiration from works like Minority Report, which has a crime prediction system based on precogs.