Tasmania Reviews 2 Years of Parole Decisions After AI Error Voided Murderer's Gag Condition
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 19
Tasmania Reviews 2 Years of Parole Decisions After AI Error Voided Murderer's Gag Condition
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 19
Summary
Tasmania's justice department said Friday it will review how AI may have informed past parole decisions after a court voided a condition imposed on convicted killer Susan Neill-Fraser.
Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling found the media gag condition invalid and procedurally unfair after the Parole Board relied on a document prepared with AI assistance that cited nonexistent case law.
Neill-Fraser was paroled in 2022 after serving 13 years for the 2009 murder of Bob Chappell, and the challenged condition barred her from publicly claiming innocence or wrongful conviction.
Greg Barns of Prisoners Legal Service Tasmania said his group is auditing 2 years of Parole Board decisions for signs of AI use or similar mistakes, while Attorney General Guy Barnett has demanded an explanation.
The case has intensified scrutiny of AI use in legal decision-making, with the independent Parole Board declining to say how widely it has used the technology.