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INSTANBUL BLOG:
Turkish journalist suggests Jailmatic AI system to cut costs of trying and jailing government opponents
Turkey’s government should introduce an artificial intelligence-based “Jailmatic” system to automatically imprison opponents rather than squander billions paying for judicial procedures, local journalist Ozgur Erbas (@zgrerbas) wrote on December 6.
Erbas introduces her proposal in an op-ed written for bianet. It sends the message, “No more anxiety! Jailmatic would solve this problem.”
If every opponent of the government in Turkey is going to end up in prison anyway, then let AI assign them their prison queue number, Erbas suggests.
Jailmatic, or yatarmatik as it is in Turkish, would run along the same lines as the queuematic systems used in bank branches.
Erbas also proposes some advertising blurb: “With jailmatic, you can choose your time of the year, prison and instalment plan yourself.”
Dragging the people along
Where does Erbas get her enthusiasm from?
“In our country, as you know, the branches of government don't like to be separated,” Erbas also writes, adding: “They want to be united, to be together, to be powerful.
“This dynamic seen in the branches of government drags individuals along with it. For example, when I see a car parked in the middle of a pedestrian crossing, I immediately start telling myself: ‘When I become president of the republic...’”
Nail that post
Erbas reflects that she has her heart set on obtaining a post, status, and has things she’ll accomplish if she sits in that post.
As an experienced Turkish civilian, she knows what she has been taught: she needs to nail that post, position and status are necessary. “The bushes whisper to me, ‘Grab that seat, and you'll get what you want.’”
Dear judge, dear prosecutor you would still read files, make decisions
But back to the benefits of Jailmatic. “Why,” asks Erbas, “would someone want to become a judge or a prosecutor? To sit on a bench, wear a robe, read files and make decisions? Well, if so, there's no problem, you'll still do exactly this according to my proposal.
“Unless you're one of those who, like in Aristophanes' play The Wasps, go mad saying, ‘I can't stop judging, I can't live without seeing the defendants beg and cry,’ then you’ll just do your job. Of course, it’s known that your job includes elements like ensuring justice and the rule of law, things that aren't always clearly understood by everyone. But you’ll still do your job well, you’ll get your salary without a hitch, and that's it. If anyone asks, you say, ‘I did my job, I applied what the law says.’"
Shaky ground, shifting coalitions
Besides, how to manoeuvre in the job would remain a challenge. You can’t forget the people you haven't greeted in a while, says Erbas. You might need to drop by their office for tea. And there are those who never leave their offices. Some of those, well, you might need to cut them dead.
“If you can't figure all this out instantly and just jump through the hoops, you'll descend the courthouse steps faster than you climbed up. In short, these are difficult tasks; not just anyone can handle them,” advises Erbas.
The lawyers? Their problems are countless
In the system as it stands, there is also, of course, the lawyers. Their problems are countless. Some wanted to become judges or prosecutors, but weren't permitted to do so. It’s gotten to the point where, on joining the student association at law school, you can inwardly bid farewell to the robes of judges and prosecutors. But, adds Erbas, because you studied law, you still believe such discrimination shouldn’t have happened. Ultimately, it's hard to concede to yourself that the education you received, the diploma you obtained, aren’t very useful. But at least you can still recite to yourself, “There can be no trial without defence.” Right?
Pliers and wires
In Turkey, according to the journalist, a campaign to suspend the Constitution has begun. The judiciary has become politicised, reduced to a toolbox of pliers and wires. But those cases. They keep on coming. They are countless. The spending is immense. The strain on the budgets of the justice and interior ministries is hardly bearable. “I wanted to contribute to the solution,” says Erbas.
And the solution is Jailmatic
If every opponent of the government is set to one day eat toast in a prison canteen, then let's design a system where people enter their ID number, choose three prisons near their home, select their preferred time of the year for imprisonment and simply press a button, she proposes.
The system would upload everything, including the person’s social media activity and inactivity, intelligence on their behaviour, baseless accusations, what neighbours and colleagues are saying about them and anything else you can think of. It would go straight into an AI “mind”, which would determine the prison term.
It's green, moreover!
Think about it. Police officers would no longer have to raid addresses in the early hours. All the costs, including motor fuel, winter tyres, vehicle insurance, the officer's allowance and so on, would be avoided.
Moreover, the costs generated by the detention, medical checks, transfers, prison meals... All of this would fall away.
Enormous legal expenses, endless hearings, the paperwork, files, witness fees, expert witness fees… Everything you can think of, that would all vanish too.
The system would inform you of the duration of the intended incarceraton, which prison is available for the desired period and your entry and exit dates. It would provide you with your queue number and a confirmation code. It could all be sent to your mobile phone. And that would be it.
Only the judiciary?
Erbas’ proposal is limited to the judicial system. However, looking at the current political settings of the country, there are many unnecessary institutions that produce carbon emissions.
The parliament, opposition parties and a vast number of media institutions that publish or broadcast identical stories. These three for a start could be listed as leading candidates. Their absence would make no difference to anything,
Let’s widen this green transformation. Cut more emissions, shrink more budget deficits. All in all, what we have here is a formidable proposal.
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