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Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into law enforcement has become a concern of contemporary politics and public discourse. In this paper, we qualitatively examine the perspectives of AI technologies based on 20 semi-structured interviews of law enforcement professionals in North Carolina. We investigate how integrating AI technologies, such as predictive policing and autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, impacts the relationships between communities and police jurisdictions. The evidence suggests that police officers maintain that AI plays a limited role in policing but believe the technologies will continue to expand, improving public safety and increasing policing capability. Conversely, police officers believe that AI will not necessarily increase trust between police and the community, citing ethical concerns and the potential to infringe on civil rights. It is thus argued that the trends toward integrating AI technologies into law enforcement are not without risk. Policymaking guided by public consensus and collaborative discussion with law enforcement professionals must aim to promote accountability through the application of responsible design of AI in policing with an end state of providing societal benefits and mitigating harm to the populace. Society has a moral obligation to mitigate the detrimental consequences of fully integrating AI technologies into law enforcement.
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Digital Transformation in Police Work: A Sociomaterial Perspective on Police Body Worn Cameras (BWC)
The need to augment human capabilities through computer-based technologies, and a belief in the “objectivity” of data has contributed to the popularity of wearables. Such is the case with BWCs and their proliferation in police organizations. Unfortunately, BWCs have not been studied from an IS perspective, using specific or complementary theories applied in IS. We address this gap with a case study of a mid-sized police department, using a sociomaterial lens. We find that BWCs have triggered significant unanticipated changes in police practice. The impacts of these changes are not uniformly distributed. Rank-and-file patrol officers carry the burden upfront, while evidence technicians are burdened on the backend. We contribute by providing an actual account of the changes and impacts of BWCs in policing; providing initial evidence of how BWCs meet policing goals; and demonstrating the applicability of sociomateriality in explicating wearable technologies in general, and BWCs in particular.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1656239
- PAR ID:
- 10079950
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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