The Face Effect - Banner

When a face is a felony

Who will the judge release?

When someone is arrested in the United States, a judge must decide whether they await trial in jail or at home.

face 1
Judge Decision
RELEASED
Arrest Type
Homicide
Age
39
Prior Convictions
None
Face 2
Judge Decision
DETAINED
Arrest Type
Homicide
Age
39
Prior Convictions
None

What impacts a judge's decision? We built an algorithm to find out.

Faces Matter

45%

of the judge's decision was explained by the mugshot.

What’s in a face?

Graph

Common facial features like skin color, gender presentation, and aging effects did not explain the judge's decision. Judges, and the algorithm, were seeing something else.

AI is a Black Box

We needed a way to understand what the algorithm was seeing in a face. So we built a facial transformation tool to communicate with the AI.

AI Desktop View AI Mobile View

We exaggerated the facial features the algorithm noticed and then asked study participants to name the difference between two transformed faces.

Facial Bias

Thin
Full
Thin - Full Avatar
Release Likelihood
56.59%

We found that a gaunt, thin face was more than half as predictive as a previous felony.

Learn more about how we made these discoveries

When a face is a felony...

High/Low Risk Face

High risk face vs.
low risk face

59% decrease in detention rate

Previous Felony

Previous felony vs.
no prev. felony

44% Decrease

Thin/Full Face

Thin-face vs.
Full-faced

23% Decrease

Non-Violent/Violent Crime

Non-Violent vs.
Violent Crime

20% Decrease

A face can be the difference between detention and release, and facial features on their own can be more impactful than the type of crime.

Why does this matter?

Injustice

Newly discovered facial bias is causing injustice.

Judges

We can help judges counter it.

Policy

New policies could lead to less biased decisions.

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