Even ‘Law & Order’ Is Terrified of AI

Longtime fans of the NBC procedural Law & Order know that storylines often center around hot-button issues in the news cycle, often to absurdist effect (see: the episode brave enough to ask: “What if Paula Deen shot Trayvon Martin?”).

It was inevitable, then, that the franchise would dip a toe into the wacky world of artificial intelligence. With its mercenary culture, power-hungry CEOs, and massive ethical and philosophical implications, the rapidly evolving AI industry is ideal fodder for the series. But while this week’s season opener is entertaining, the show’s foray into the AI space doesn’t say anything new or interesting about the technology. Instead it largely rehashes the dangers the public is already acutely aware of, until the very end when the stakes become startlingly clear.

The episode, titled “Ghost in the Machine,” opens in typical L&O fashion with a murder. This time, it’s Steve Kelly, a man ID’d by detectives Theo Walker (David Ajala) and Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) as a high-ranking engineer at a company called Advanced Alignment. Throughout, the detectives seem utterly perplexed by the concept of artificial intelligence, saying “AI” the same way your mom would say “Snapchat” or “borg” or “Alix Earle.” But it’s clear that whatever this newfangled technology is, they don’t like it: “Maybe one day they’ll invent a technology that stops these tech guys from shooting each other,” Riley deadpans in typical grizzled cop fashion.

The resulting trial prompts a media circus, as well as the tried-and-true questions from capitalists and tech innovators as to whether instituting guardrails for AI will “criminalize innovation,” or if Klein’s indictment will have the effect of “vilifying the tech industry.” But Baxter has no patience for such queries. “The people making these AI systems think of themselves as gods … but they have zero interest in accountability,” he says. “If you build a machine that hurts someone, you are gonna pay the price.”