Police departments around the world are using this startup's AI to predict future crime.

Mami Kajita, founder of Singular Perturbations, explains the success of their models, the public reaction to the technology, and how the physics models of glass transition lead to a crime prediction AI.

We debate the future impact of crime prediction technology, and we also talk about how researchers and entrepreneurs can better connect and collaborate.

It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it.

Show Notes

Telling police what future crime is likely to occur
Who else, besides the police, can use these tools
How the physics of glass transition lead to crime prediction
How to sell software to the police (and other government agencies)
Real world trials led to a 68% decrease in crime
What data go into Crime Nabi's models
The public reaction to future crime prediction
Unintended consequences and and the future of crime prediction
How founders can find mentors and advisors
How researchers and entrepreneurs can better connect and collaborate

Links from the Founder

Everything you ever wanted to know about Singular Perturbations
Check out Mami's published research
Connect with Mami on LinkedIn
Friend her on Facebook

Transcript
Welcome to Disrupting Japan, straight talk from Japan’s most successful entrepreneurs.
I’m Tim Romero and thanks for joining me.
Today we're going to talk about predicting future crime, and not in terms of 1950s science fiction, but in terms of real software being used right now by police departments all over the world. 
We talk with Mami Kajita of Singular Perturbations about their Crime Nabi AI, and how this technology is starting to change policing. In real world use Crime Nabi has already resulted in crime reductions of over 50% in areas where it's been tested around the world. 
In our conversation, Mami and I dig into these numbers and we talk about the somewhat surprising inputs that go into training the Crime Nabi AI. 
And of course, we also talk about the very real potential dangers for misuse and what Singular Perturbations is doing to make sure this technology is a force for good. 
Along the way, we talk about how founders can find good mentors and advisors, the proper balance between research and sales, and some really good advice about how to sell to national governments as a startup. 
But, you know, Mami tells that story much better than I can, so let's get right to the interview.

Interview 
Tim: So, cheers.
Mami: Okay, cheers.
Tim: So, I'm sitting here with Mami Kajita, the founder and CEO of Singular Perturbations, the AI for Crime Prediction. So, thanks for sitting down with me.
Mami: Yeah, thank you so much. I'm very honored to be here, and thank you so much for this opportunity.
Tim: I'm glad to have you here. In the intro, I explained a little bit about what Singular Perturbations does. But I think you can explain it much better than me. So, what does Singular Perturbations do?
Mami: We predict future crimes in using AI technology and we provide operation management services for police departments and local governments. And the name of our product is Crime Nabi.
Tim: So, you are telling police departments where future crime is likely to occur?
Mami: Yes. Using this technology we can provide the area where the risk is higher than the other area.
Tim: Okay. And how do they use this information? What do they do with it?
Mami: We provide operational management services in the police department, and there is a team who patrols outside and in Japan, and many police departments doesn't use crime prediction technology before patrols. They have not so much established plan.
Tim: So, the police departments are using this predictive technology to decide where to send patrols?
Mami: Yes, yes.
Tim: Okay. What kind of predictions does it make? Does it predict the type of crime or just the level or…?