The AI tool that predicts violence

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“We are motivated by the possibility of solving a problem that is really serious,” says Nazar Akrami, Professor of Psychology at Uppsala University. Working with information technology researchers, he has developed a tool that analyses texts on the internet to assess the risk that a person might commit a violent act.

■ THE DECHEFR TOOL has generated a great deal of interest. Akrami and his colleagues have been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States. Others who have shown interest in the tool include Google, LinkedIn and law enforcement authorities in various countries.

It is a tool with several algorithms, which together can assess the risk that an individual may commit acts of violence. All you need is a text from the internet, such as from social media, discussion forums, text messages and chats.

WORKING WITH THE FBI, he has been further refining the tool and has increased its accuracy by training the algorithms, using data from known cases and from a normal population. This in turn has led to contacts with companies like Google and LinkedIn and with law enforcement authorities in various countries.

“In our two years of operation, we have found that our algorithms and infrastructure can be used for other purposes. For example, we work on assessing suicide risk by analysing texts.”

All the tools use texts found on the internet, where people commonly express negative thoughts and feelings.

“There are two worlds, the real world and the virtual world. In the real world, there are lots of mechanisms that make meetings pleasant, but these are missing in many places online,” says Akrami.

“Our company develops technologies that enable us to predict various behaviours – especially undesirable ones. For example, we are currently working on ways to identify grooming behaviour by sexual predators, which is important in helping children stay safe online.”

UP UNTIL NOW, the risk assessment tools have been used by analysts, who make their own assessment of the warning flags identified by the tool. Although research shows that the accuracy is high, around 95 per cent, the analyst always has the last word and makes the decisions.

Nazar Akrami, Professor of Psychology at Uppsala University. The research focuses on how to identify individuals who are at increased risk of committing acts of violence based on their written communication.

The aim of the tools is to help analysts make the right decisions. Sometimes, for example, situations can arise where people who pose no risk at all are red-flagged.

“Making risk assessments is complicated, and flagging innocent individuals or missing potentially dangerous ones is always a risk. Analysts have a complicated task, and I hope our tools will help them in their assessments.” ●

Lone perpetrators of violence

• ‘Lone perpetrator’ is the term used to describe a person who, alone or with another person, plans and commits serious violent acts on their own initiative and without personal gain. • In Sweden and its Nordic neighbours, there have been several high-profile attacks by lone perpetrators, such as terrorist attacks and school shootings. • The most well-known case is Anders Behring Breivik’s attack in Norway in 2011.