How Formerly Incarcerated People Envision Technologies for Prison Parole

2026-07-17

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of involvement from communities impacted by the criminal legal system in the design of parole calculation tools, which often fail to reflect their actual needs. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 31 formerly incarcerated individuals and employing participatory envisioning methods, the research proposes a design perspective centered on “strategic agency,” emphasizing that technology should empower individuals and their families to navigate and contest existing power structures in pursuit of freedom, rather than reinforcing surveillance. Key design directions identified include cultural responsiveness, visualization of personal transformation, and recognition of familial labor. These insights reveal authentic expectations for parole-related technologies and offer a new paradigm for developing human-centered, agency-supportive parole assistance systems.

Abstract

AI-driven algorithms and automated tools are increasingly embedded in the correctional landscape, shaping parole eligibility,release decisions, and surveillance. These tools are also often framed as objective, inevitable solutions to inefficiency andbias. Yet, these computational systems are rarely designed with input from justice-impacted individuals, which means theymight fail to address the real needs of incarcerated people. To address this gap, we surveyed 31 formerly incarcerated peopleabout their parole experiences and their visions for technologies that could support parole preparation. Contrary to dominantassumptions, participants did not imagine computational tools as instruments to dismantle the prison system, but as resourcesfor navigating power: translating complex parole concepts into culturally familiar terms, documenting personal transformationin board-legible ways, and recognizing the often-invisible labor of families. We argue that these imaginaries point towardtechnologies designed for strategic agency, where tools help incarcerated individuals and their families build the capacity tonavigate existing power structures in pursuit of freedom. We conclude by reframing computational tools for parole awayfrom surveillance and toward human-centered systems that support people in navigating carceral power structures.

Problem

• parole
• AI-driven algorithms
• formerly incarcerated people
• carceral power structures
• human-centered systems

Innovation

• strategic agency
• human-centered design
• carceral technology
• parole support
• justice-impacted voices