His conclusion is that rehabilitation is, in many cases, eminently possible. What’s more, it does appear to be at least somewhat predictable in which cases it will succeed. Wouldn’t a system built on this statistical foundation be better than the status quo of subjective, inconsistent, and idiosyncratic human decisions made by judges on the fly? “There can be no doubt of the feasibility of determining the factors governing the success or the failure of the man on parole,” Burgess writes. “Human behavior seems to be subject to some degree of predictability. Are these recorded facts the basis on which a prisoner receives his parole? Or does the Parole Board depend on the impressions favorable or unfavorable which the man makes upon its members at the time of the hearing?”

Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, loc. 101963