(NewsNation) — A new prison concept would have criminals serve entire sentences in just a few minutes.
But it wouldn’t feel like minutes to them. Using the Cognify method, incarcerated people would be hooked up to machines and their brains flooded with artificial memories for what feels like years, effectively forcing them to relive what victims might have gone through.
According to Dubai-based project lead Hashem Al-Ghaili, a biotechnologist and science communicator, the subjects would have the choice between a 10-year prison sentence or AI-generated memory implants.
“Synthetic memories are customized depending on the crime committed and the unique brain structure and psychological profile of the individual,” Al-Ghaili told MSN.
His so-called “prison of the future” could be used on those who committed crimes like domestic violence, hate crimes, embezzlement, theft, discrimination and more. Each offender’s history would be taken into account when generating their artificial memories.
“Violent offenders could experience memories that are designed to trigger empathy and remorse, seeing their crime from the perspective of their victim and feeling their pain and suffering firsthand,” Al-Ghaili said.
“The Cognify concept could revolutionize the criminal justice system by significantly reducing the need for long-term incarceration and its associated costs,” Al-Ghaili said.
After experiencing the artificial memories and undergoing rehabilitation “therapy” via AI, Al-Ghaili said convicts would be able to rejoin society in days rather than years.
Moral concerns about the method include those who are wrongly accused and convicted being forced to relive trauma they never induced, as well as the potential malicious misuse of artificial memory implantation.