Can AI solve crime? ⏲️ 6 Minute English

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute

English from BBC Learning English. I'm Beth.

And I'm Neil. Don't forget

that you can find a transcript and a quiz for this episode on

our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Now today, Neil, we're talking all

about solving crime. Do you think you'd be

a good detective? Actually, no, Beth. I think my brain's not very good

with details! Today, we'll be talking

about how artificial intelligence might help detectives

and the police investigate crimes. But first, I have a question

for you, Beth – in the UK, lots of people enjoy watching

fictional detectives on TV. These programmes

are called murder mysteries and tell the story

of a detective solving a crime. In 2020, a magazine called

the Radio Times asked readers who their favourite TV detective was. So, who do you think was

the most popular? Was it a) Sherlock Holmes,

b) Hercule Poirot, or c) Miss Marple? Surely it's Sherlock Holmes? Well, you sound very sure, but I will reveal the answer

at the end of the programme. Now, when the police are investigating

crimes in the real world, their techniques are often

quite different from what we see on television. Yes. Solving

crimes involves collecting and reviewing lots of evidence

like DNA, fingerprints, or CCTV. All of this work takes a lot of time. So, can AI help police speed up

the work and even solve crimes? That's the question listener Alastair

had for the BBC Radio 4 programme, The Artificial Human. And host Alex Krotoski wanted

to know more. So, Alastair,

why are you asking this question? Tell us a little bit about yourself

and where you're coming from. So, my name's Alastair and

I'm a serving police officer. My background is with investigation. I'm looking at artificial intelligence

and thinking, "What can it do for me?" Alex asks Alastair to explain

where he's coming from. This means explain his perspective

or point of view. In informal English, we'll often ask someone,

"Do you get where I'm coming from?" And we're asking whether they understand

our opinion or perspective. Alastair explains that he's interested in how artificial intelligence

could help solve crimes, because he's a police officer

with a background in investigations. If you have a background

in something, it means most of your previous work

or experience was related to something. For example, I work as a producer at BBC Learning English now,

making programmes, but my background is

in classroom teaching. Alastair talks about using

artificial intelligence for training and asks, "What can it do for me?" This means, "How can artificial

intelligence help or improve something?" When a crime happens,

police officers have to collect and review a lot of information

to find evidence. When you have a lot of information to

review, it can be difficult to know what's important and find patterns

which might be relevant to the crime. But Professor Ruth Morgan, an expert

in crime and forensic science, thinks AI could help speed up

police work. As she told BBC Radio 4's

The Artificial Human. I think we're seeing a renaissance

in the pattern-recognition forms of evidence: so, finger marks,

footwear marks. There's been lots of challenges

with those forms of evidence over the last ten years, probably

going a little bit out of favour. And yet what

we're beginning to see now with AI is that you can take a photo

of a mark with your phone, compare that mark to the database

and get real-time insight. Ruth says there's a renaissance

in looking at patterns in evidence, such as finger marks

or footwear marks. Renaissance means new interest or

activity in a particular topic or area. This kind of evidence went a little

bit out of favour over recent years because of the excitement

around DNA evidence. If something is out of favour,

it's less popular or appealing. But AI could mean

that patterns in finger marks or footwear marks are useful

in solving crimes again. This is because AI can be used

to compare a picture of a mark with a database of pictures from

other crimes and get real-time insight. The adjective real-time means

the information is presented at the same time that it's happening. Yes, AI can compare lots

of information very quickly, which makes finding patterns in evidence

much easier and more reliable. There are some problems

with using AI to solve crimes though. To find these patterns, lots of private information

would need to be collected, and police usually have to give

clear reasons why they need access to certain information

in their investigations. It's unlikely an AI-powered robot would

ever replace a detective anytime soon! Yes, and that reminds me

of your question, Neil. I said that Sherlock Holmes was maybe

the most popular detective. Was I right? You were absolutely right. And I think people should try

the quiz on our website to find out how much they know as well. It's at bbclearningenglish.com. OK. Let's recap the vocabulary

we've learned, starting with the expression

where you're coming from, which means your opinion

or perspective on something. Your background is the area that

you have the most work experience in. The question

'what can this do for me?' means 'how can this help

or improve things?' Renaissance means new interest

or activity in something. If something is out of favour, it

has become less popular or appealing. And the adjective real-time means

information is presented as it is happening. Once again, our six minutes are up. Head to our website to find

more episodes of 6 Minute English at bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now!

Bye.