Minority Report is a thing now Pressure group Statewatch has
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Minority Report is a thing now
Pressure group Statewatch has revealed the UK’s Ministry of Justice has been working on a dystopian AI “Murder Prediction” program that uses algorithms to analyze large data sets and predict who is most likely to become a killer.
That’s basically the plot of Minority Report. Documents outlining the scheme were uncovered in Freedom of Information requests. In them, the MoJ says the program aims to “review offender characteristics that increase the risk of committing homicide” and “explore alternative and innovative data science techniques to risk assessment of homicide.”
Statewatch says data from ordinary citizens is being used as part of the project, although officials claim the data is only those with a criminal record. Researcher Sofia Lyall called the project “chilling and dystopian” and said it would likely end up targeting minority communities.
“Building an automated tool to profile people as violent criminals is deeply wrong, and using such sensitive data on mental health, addiction and disability is highly intrusive and alarming.”
Tariffs aim to bring robot factories to the US
There’s an old clip circulating of Dave Chappelle talking about how stupid Donald Trump’s original tariff threats on China were for trying to bring back low-paid factory jobs to the US.
“For what? So iPhones can be $9000? Leave that job in China where it belongs. None of us wants to work that hard… I want to wear Nikes, I don’t want to make them shits.”
The Chinese are also LOLing at the thought of a bunch of obese good ol’ boys toiling away in sweatshops.
— Damon Chen (@damengchen) April 7, 2025
AI Eye is not suggesting there’s a well-thought-out rationale behind Trump’s recent trade policy, given how haphazard and erratic has been enacted so far, but one rationale for the steep tariffs on China is to make space for robot factories to set up in the US.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said as much on Fox News.
“What’s going to happen is robotics are going to replace the cheap labor that we’ve seen all across the world,” he said, complaining that US companies have been using “slave labor, cheap labor to make products in developing countries and import them back to the US.”
He tried to spin this as being good for American workers on CBS News’s Face the Nation, but host Margaret Brennan pointed out the jobs are hardly “union worker jobs.”
“It’s automated factories,” Lutnick replied. “The key is who is going to build and operate the factories…”
“You said robots,” Brennan pointed out
Lutnick backpedaled and suggested that American humans could build the factories and work as mechanics and electricians to keep the robots running.
Watters: What kind of manufacturing are you talking about returning here?
Lutnick: What’s going to happen is robotics are going to replace the cheap labor… pic.twitter.com/k9UPNhuvU1
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 4, 2025
First AI-generated lawyer struck off
A New York appeals court justice was taken aback to find that the man addressing the court via video did not exist.
Plaintiff Jerome Dewald, 74, had been given permission to show a prerecorded video presentation of his legal argument, but it became clear the man in the video was actually a deepfake AI lawyer.
“May it please the court,” the fake man said. “I come here today a humble pro se [self-represented] before a panel of five distinguished justices.”
Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels said, “Is this… is… hold on… is that council for the case?”
“I generated that,” Dewald responded. “That is not a real person.”
She was not pleased. In an apology letter to the court, Dewald said he was worried about stumbling over his words when speaking and cooked up an AI avatar to do it for him.
“My intent was never to deceive but rather to present my arguments in the most efficient manner possible,” Dewald wrote.
Also read: ‘Chernobyl’ needed to wake people to AI risks, Studio Ghibli memes
Kawasaki unveils hydrogen-powered rideable robot horse-cat
Kawasaki has invented a new environmentally friendly, all-terrain vehicle that looks a lot like a robot cougar crossed with a steampunk horse.
The prototype for CORLEO, a hydrogen-powered human-rideable four-legged robot controlled by AI, was unveiled last week.
Made from metal and carbon and with a saddle-type seat, the legs have rubber hooves for traction on a variety of surfaces, from grass to rocky paths. The vehicle has a 150cc electric engine and emits only water vapor.
Unfortunately, Kawasaki doesn’t envision it…
cointelegraph.com