05/03/2026
Dragons for Democracy Intern and Criminology major Kaylynn Claudio designed and conducted her “Social Media, AI, and Jury Decisions” mock trial event. Participants served as the jury, considering the extent to which artificial intelligence, the creators of AI, or the users of AI should be held accountable for crimes committed through the use of this technology.
Among the participants was Professor Noah Wason from the English Department.
Claudio intentionally kept the “case” in non-specific terms so that as the participants – the jury – deliberate, they could include the wide range of ways in which AI (or its users) could be liable for a variety of potential crimes.
She set the stage for the event by speaking as a prosecutor delivering her closing statements in a trial, after (what is, in effect) the debate portion of a trial. She also provided the defense’s closing statements.
Participants explored possibilities that ranged from youngsters committing crimes that were suggested by AI avatars to government officials using AI for their personal financial benefit.
Professor Wason described ways in which predictive data technology and data brokers are complicating an already vague, confusing, and poorly-regulated legal landscape.
Surveillance is one example of this challenge, he said, pointing out that surveillance is not only through cameras, but through electronic communication in our purchasing, and social media activity, among others.
He recommended Shalini Kantayya’s documentary “Coded Bias” as a way to begin learning about social justice issues related to facial recognition and AI, among other technologies.
The discussion reinforced Claudio’s interest in AI’s role in her major, Criminology, and she is considering registering for Professor Wason’s new course in the spring 2027 semester: Surveillance, Rhetoric, and Technology (PWR 310).