New edition Science Film Club with film ‘Pre-Crime’

What if an algorithm predicts crimes before they happen? But also: what if that algorithm judges people before they have done something wrong? And what if this system encourages racism?

The third edition of the Science Film Club will take place on Wednesday 8 September. We kick off the season with the documentary Pre-Crime (Matthias Heeder & Monika Hielscher, 2017). A world in which crimes can be prevented because the possible perpetrators are caught beforehand. It sounds like a futuristic idea from a science fiction movie (we saw it in Spielberg’s Minority Report). But due to technological developments in recent years, this is an extremely realistic scenario today. The documentary shows how new software can be used to catch potential criminals. Who manages this data? What does this mean for our freedom? And does the use of this technique increase the chance of ethnic profiling?

We watch the film online together and then have a conversation with two experts. Naomi Appelman is a researcher and one of the founders of the Racism and Technology Center, a Dutch foundation that uses technology to combat racism. Hilde Weerts works as an ‘Artificial Intelligence Engineer’ at Eindhoven University of Technology. She advocates the responsible use of algorithms and artificial intelligence. What about algorithms in the Dutch police and security services? And are we sufficiently aware of the opportunities and risks?

Pre-Crime – Wednesday 8 September, online from 19:30 – Suitable for all ages – English spoken and not (NL) subtitled – 88 min