If bail decisions were made by an Artificial Intelligence instead of judges, repeat crime rates among applicants could be cut by 25%. That is because an AI is consistent in its judgements: human judges are not.
This variation in in bail decisions, as well as in sentencing, and many medical diagnoses and underwriting decisions are all examples of what Cass Sunstein calls "Noise" - unwanted variation in professional judgement, which is the theme of his new book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement, co authored with Danny Kahneman and Olivier Sibony. Professional judgement and discretion sound great in theory - especially to the professionals themselves - but in practice they end up creating a lottery in some high-stakes situations.
He tells me why there should be statues of the legal reformer Marvin Frankel all across the land; how we can reduce the "creep factor" of AI decision-making; how early movers influence opinion especially through social media, and much more.
Cass Sunstein
Cass Sunstein is a professor at Harvard Law School, as well as the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy. He has written hundreds of articles and numerous books, ranging from constitutional law to Star Wars. He has also served in several government positions, formerly in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in Obama’s first administration and currently in the Department of Homeland Security to shape immigration laws. Sunstein’s influence is wide-reaching, most notably from his work on advancing the field of behavioral economics, making him one of the most frequently cited scholars. He is also a recipient of the Holberg Prize and has several appointments in global organizations, including the World Health Organization.
More from Cass Sunstein
Also mentioned
The Dialogues Team
Creator: Richard Reeves
Research: Ashleigh Maciolek
Artwork: George Vaughan Thomas
Tech Support: Cameron Hauver-Reeves
Music: "Remember" by Bencoolen (thanks for the permission, guys!)
Emily Oster on COVID, kids and parenting
David Brooks on how the elite broke America
Tyler Stovall on white freedom
Carole Hooven on testosterone and masculinity
John Gray on why cats are wiser than philosophers
David French on how judges are saving the republic
Joseph Henrich on how religion changed sex, families and culture
Jeremiah Johnson on the new neoliberalism
Jennifer Morton on creating a better elite
Jonathan Rauch on how to know what's true
Nick Clegg on Facebook's Trump decision
Mustafa Akyol on liberalizing Islam
Martha Nussbaum on #MeToo, Title IX and sexual assault
Chris Mason on the moral case for Mars and beyond
Liz Bruenig on the return of the death penalty
Jonathan Haidt on making free speech better
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL