4 ms·

We don't have access to the sentencing algorithms in the minds of judges, either.

• xdissent 9y ago
  But we either elect them or elect the reps that appoint them, and we have (some) recourse to make them explain their reasoning, which they usually offer openly.
  • Jtsummers 9y ago
    And judges' results are checked by appeals courts. If a judge is found to, consistently, base their decisions on some illegal bias, they can be impeached and discharged of their duties. It's unfortunate for their victims, but it's small scale. When you move biases from one person into a whole system, be encoding them in some poorly considered model and executing it at scale, then the process of correcting it can be far more difficult (though problems should also arise much faster so it shouldn't persist as long, but that's only in theory, not practice).
• zardo 9y ago
  They don't keep their reasoning secret and sell their sentancing recommendations either.
  • Jtsummers 9y ago
    There's reasoning and there's justification. It's entirely possible that the reason a judge does something is not revealed by the justification they present.
    • deleted 9y ago
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