US prison inmate AI call monitoring plan raises privacy, bias concerns

Occurred: February 2022

US prisons rolled out out an AI-based system that scans inmates' phone calls, leading rights groups to voice concerns about privacy, surveillance and discrimination.

Intended to keep prisons and jails safe, Leo Technologies' Verus system uses Amazon speech-to-text technology based on keywords to identify and transcribe prisoners' phone calls. 

However, groups such as Access Now, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Worth Rises expressed concerns that it would abuse the privacy rights of family members and others with whom prisoners are talking. Another issue is discrimination. Research shows voice-to-text tools are significantly more inaccurate for Black voices. And a higher percentage of Black people are detained or jailed in the US.

Surveillance was also considered a concern, eith Reuters quoting documents that revealed instances of prisons and detention centres using Verus for purposes beyond maintaining safety, for example identifying conversations that would help them win court cases, and monitoring COVID-19. 

The Intercept had earlier reported that prison officials in several US states had been using Verus to scan inmate calls for COVID-19 mentions and to flag complaints about the quality of prison response to the pandemic.

System 🤖

Operator: Suffolk County Sheriff's Office; Multiple
Developer: LEO Technologies

Country: USA

Sector: Govt - justice

Purpose: Improve safety

Technology: Speech-to-text AI

Issue: Bias/discrimination - race, ethnicity; Privacy; Surveillance
Transparency: Governance

Page info
Type: Issue
Published: February 2022