tl;dr: Wisconsin courts use an algorithm called Compas for sentencing (though not exclusively AFAICT). Compas is an algorithm that calculates the likelihood of

tl;dr: Wisconsin courts use an algorithm called Compas for sentencing (though not exclusively AFAICT). Compas is an algorithm that calculates the likelihood of someone committing another crime and suggests what kind of supervision a defendant should receive in prison. Compas' algorithm is secret: Company officials say the algorithm’s results are backed by research, but they are tight-lipped about its details. They do acknowledge that men and women receive different assessments, as do juveniles, but the factors considered and the weight given to each are kept secret. “The key to our product is the algorithms, and they’re proprietary,” said Jeffrey Harmon, Northpointe’s general manager.