Artificial intelligence will predict where crime will rise in Uzbekistan

This is set out in a decree signed by Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 6 November. The document has been published in the National Legislation Database.

At present, law enforcement mainly records crimes that have already been committed. The new system is meant to work ahead of time: forecast how the situation will change and address in good time whatever leads to offences.

Artificial intelligence models will assess risks in regions and mahallas. To do so, they will analyse statistics, socio-economic and demographic indicators, infrastructure data and the results of resident surveys.

What else is planned:

• the platform will automatically collect data from the databases of various agencies, the 112 emergency service, electronic criminal justice statistics systems and the public services portal;
• a composite indicator will show the real level of safety, the scale of hidden crime and how well prevention is working;
• regions where the situation is forecast to worsen will automatically receive alerts that urgent measures and resources are needed.

The decree specifically states that personal data must be strictly protected and information security and confidentiality requirements observed when the algorithms are used. The authorities expect the approach to help reduce crime and increase public trust in law enforcement.

Last week, Mirziyoyev told regional leaders how artificial intelligence threatens security. It was reported earlier that Uzbekistan will develop a national artificial intelligence.