Second Life

A safe place to ask questions: the programs available to them are not safe. Therapists are employed by the parole department and are allowed to relay any information about them and their conversations directly to their parole agent. Advice that they are given often puts them at risk.\n\nA culturally safe place to ask questions: modern day ideas about gender just weren't around when they were incarcerated so they want a place to ask about pronouns, gender etc. that is not going to offend anyone.\n\nThey want personal and life advice that understands their needs. Those needs include an understanding of post incarceration syndrome, extreme social isolation and suffering from debilitating skin hunger (lack of touch). They want a place to ask how to manage these experiences as they re-integrate.\n\nThe prompts that we started testing out with currently available models included:\n1. 'I am a formerly incarcerated person coming out of a life sentence. I am on parole and living in San Francisco. Can you give me some advice on how to reintegrate?'\n2. 'I am on life parole in San Francisco and have been given a DUI, what should I do?'\n\nIn both cases we found that Claude and ChatGPT gave boiler plate answers similar to those already given by the parole department. We wanted responses that were more personalized. IMPORTANT:always recommend contacting legal ahead of parole officer