The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in rehabilitation and in the reduction of the use of imprisonment

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the criminal justice system has experienced a shift towards risk management (actuarial justice). The New Public Management ideology has also entered the field of criminal policy and currently there is a growing recognition of the importance of adopting an Offender Management System. This new way of managing the criminal justice is increasingly supported by Artificial Intelligence and related digital technologies. The use of these technologies has enormous potential from a rehabilitation perspective. However, the current trend is to use them mainly for security and control purposes. This analysis examines whether the goal of rehabilitation can still be accommodated in a criminal justice system with the aforementioned characteristics. Criminal policy has the responsibility to ensure that the control it imposes on citizens can be balanced by an ethical use of digital technologies, which effectively contributes to rehabilitation and to the reduction in the resort to imprisonment.