Reimagining Corrections: Variation in AI and Emerging Technology Adoption Across Correctional Systems

• In Event: Governance Ecosystems: Innovation, Institutional Design, and Policy Outcomes

Abstract

Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies are increasingly reshaping correctional systems. Prisons and jails are adopting these technologies for a range of functions, including risk assessment, behavioral monitoring and detection of self-injurious behavior, contraband detection, institutional operations, parole planning, and rehabilitation. While these technologies may help address persistent challenges such as staffing shortages, institutional safety, and high rates of recidivism, their use also raises concerns about privacy, surveillance, algorithmic transparency, due process, and accountability. This study explores how AI and related technologies are being adopted across correctional settings and highlights variation in their applications and purposes. Adoption is not uniform but differs across correctional functions and systems based on institutional needs, resources, technological capacity, and policy environments. Drawing on emerging correctional applications, the study considers both the opportunities and limitations of these technologies and the policy concerns surrounding their use. These issues are especially relevant in the decentralized U.S. correctional system, where uneven adoption may lead to different uses and experiences of technology across jurisdictions. The study highlights the need to consider transparency, privacy, human oversight, and the effects of technology on correctional practices and justice-involved populations as adoption continues to expand.

Author

• Mijin Kim, Illinois State University
  Presenting Author