An Algorithm To Spot Serial Killers
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence algorithms are getting widely accepted across various spheres of life. Big data and its application in healthcare, finance, IT etc. is something we all have been experiencing in our lives lately.
One of the applications of Machine Learning that caught my interest was the use of an algorithm to spot serial killers. We all are aware of the increasing crime rate across the globe, especially in underdeveloped and developing economies.
Even the police establishments are finding it difficult to curb the menace of crime and at the same time providing justice to the innocent people.
To counter this issue of crime rate and to put the offenders behind bars a 61-year-old retired reporter named Thomas Hargrove has developed an algorithm which will help in decoding trends and insight from the data.
Eureka Moment
Thomas Hargrove after studying and analyzing the database thought about leveraging the potential of Machine Learning algorithms to identify hidden trends and insights.
"I don't know where these thoughts come from, but the second I saw that thing, I asked myself, 'Do you suppose it's possible to teach a computer how to spot serial killers?" - Thomas Hargrove
To build and test the accuracy of the algorithm, Thomas took help of University of Missouri grad student. For initial testing, he used the sample case study of Gary Ridgway 'Green River Killer' serial killer.
After tweaking the parameters of the algorithm and repeated trial and testing Thomas's algorithm finally locked down on Gary Ridgway as the main offender. This was the first taste of success for Thomas Hargrove.
The way forward
Lack of proper database and information is one of the key challenges in implementing Thomas's algorithm. There is also a lack of coordination between police departments. Compiling and maintaining the database of all the police records is an uphill task.
This is where I think blockchain technology platform can be put into use. Maintaining databases and across a decentralized network will reduce the cost and at the same time sharing data will be more fast and safe. But, to achieve this government has to be more proactive and provide necessary means to the police departments to scale up the use of Thomas's algorithm.
Please drop in your suggestions in the comments section below what you guys think about this entire scenario of using Machine learning algorithms to put serial killers behind bars and also, use of blockchain technology to scale up this entire system.
References and Further Read: 1, 2
ouu this is interesting.. reminds me of Minority Report.. haha
Agreed :)
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