The LSI-R (short for Level of Service Inventory-Revised) is a recidivism model that seeks to determine how likely a criminal is to repeat their offense after being released from prison. These models were built to try to make the U.S. justice system both fairer and more efficient. But because recidivism models rely on data about prior involvement with police (something that’s statistically more likely in low-income or predominately non-white neighborhoods), O’Neil suggests that they are hampered by bias and racism. Models like the LSI-R, O’Neil argues, are “weapons of math destruction” because of the feedback loops they create and the biases that structure them.
Recidivism Models/LSI-R Quotes in Weapons of Math Destruction
The Weapons of Math Destruction quotes below are all either spoken by Recidivism Models/LSI-R or refer to Recidivism Models/LSI-R. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1: Bomb Parts
Quotes
And here’s one more thing about algorithms: they can leap from one field to the next, and they often do. Research in epidemiology can hold insights for box office predictions; spam filters are being retooled to identify the AIDS virus. This is true of WMDs as well. So if mathematical models in prisons appear to succeed at their job—which really boils down to efficient management of people—they could spread into the rest of the economy along with the other WMDs, leaving us as collateral damage.
That’s my point. This menace is rising.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Weapons of Math Destruction LitChart as a printable PDF.
Recidivism Models/LSI-R Term Timeline in Weapons of Math Destruction
The timeline below shows where the term Recidivism Models/LSI-R appears in Weapons of Math Destruction. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Bomb Parts
...longer than those for white people. Courts across several states have turned to algorithms called recidivism model s in hopes of erasing racism from the U.S.’s court systems. But O’Neil argues that...
(full context)
Recidivism models such as the LSI-R (Level of Service Inventory-Revised) are biased against poor people and racial minorities. They ask about...
(full context)
...model discussed earlier, O’Neil writes, are both models that are open and transparent. But the recidivism model , she suggests, is largely invisible—and for the most part, hidden models are the rule...
(full context)
...people live their lives and whether they can access certain opportunities. Recidivism models like the LSI-R, which are presented as tools of prison reform, are perceived as being fair and efficient—but...
(full context)
Chapter 5: Civilian Casualties
...targets geography, it’s supposedly free of the racism and biases that are embedded in the recidivism model s that the court system uses. And yet by allowing police to hone in on...
(full context)
...job opportunities are more likely to be highly policed. So, WMDs like predictive policing and recidivism model s used for sentencing guidelines are inherently racially biased and logically flawed. Even though these...
(full context)
Conclusion
...like Amazon and Netflix’s, should be allowed to sort the kinds of entertainment people enjoy, recidivism model s and other algorithms used in the justice system must be held to unimpeachable standards—even...
(full context)
