Understanding Jericho

An AI designed for police work in the world's first smart city must investigate the assault of a government official. In a case that pits big data against human empathy we must ask, what do we prefer - technical flaws, or human error?

Clio knows a lot about the population of Jericho, America's first smart city. It can measure how weather patterns predict sexual assault, if pedestrians are plotting a crime or running an errand, and how the price of cheese impacts the mental health of the recently single. Yet, as a Computerized Legal Information Officer, it can't fully understand people. For example, what is the purpose of art or poetry? Clio uses image-recognition to create metaphors such as "the drops of blood moved like hair frizz in a storm" because they make his human handler, Detective Jubilee Canton, laugh. What more could this do?

When the Secretary of Health and Human Services collapses, Clio and Jubilee must explore the future of healthcare to determine if remote doctor visits enable remote assault. Their investigation pits individual human instinct against big data to find the truth. Can artificial intelligence be medicine, poison, or both?