Some of the young people at Our Hearings, Our Voice were recently asked what they thought about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential use in the Children’s Hearings System. It is a bit of a mixed bag.
Here’s what they said…
Vincent – you can tell when a piece of writing is AI when you read it. It’s bland and it lacks the human element. The language is dehumanising.
Vincent – AI is impersonal. How can you make things personalised to individuals when there isn’t a person involved?
Vincent – If you can’t be bothered writing it, why should I be bothered reading it?
Vincent – Even some of the human-created reports I’ve had about me in the past were inaccurate and badly written. If the AI is relying on these reports as a source, that’s a problem.
Vincent – When a child has gone through so much already, I think it’s a disgrace to leave big decisions about their lives to AI. We need to cling to the humanity in this process.
Harry Dexter – Part of the reason AI sounds the way it does is because it’s a basic chatbot. You could use the chatbot to write a report, but you could rewrite it in a more human way afterwards.
Harry Dexter – there is a place for AI in moderation. It shouldn’t be used without close monitoring and we shouldn’t rely on it too much. It could literally ruin someone’s life if it isn’t used responsibly and very carefully.
Harry Dexter – I do agree that when it’s used appropriately, AI can save time, but there should still always be a human checking over its work. It shouldn’t be used for the big decisions, but it could be used on more admin based tasks.
Vincent – Where does accountability fall in these issues? If something goes wrong with the AI, where does the blame lie?
Vincent – Humanity, soul, and compassion for children. That’s what we need, and that’s what AI misses.
Quack Armstrong – I see AI as a way of making adults’ jobs easier. I think it’s a way of creating shortcuts, when there shouldn’t be shortcuts in important work.
Officer Quacks – we’re still recovering from the pandemic. The country isn’t ready yet, we need to build up the system and make it as good as it can be before introducing something new like AI.
In short, the young people at OHOV aren’t entirely convinced by AI’s place in the Children’s Hearings System. What do you think? Send your thoughts to Amy at amy.miskimmin-logan@scra.gov.uk
All their views, plus the views of lots of other children and young people are now being considered as part of a research report looking at whether AI does have a place in the Hearings System. Watch this space for more information!