Re:Apple health data used in murder trial
by tinymollusk on Tuesday January 16, 2018 @12:47PM
(#16160189)
Especially considering how difficult it is, even for white collar professionals, to grasp a basic confusion matrix and adjust their probabilities for false positives.
For DNA testing, for example, the testing labs don't publish, and the courts do not allow questions regarding, their base rate false positive rate. They're worried that juries wouldn't be able to reconcile the "0.5% of DNA tests are false positives" with "beyond a reasonable doubt".
If you don't know the false positive rate, and someone comes in with a positive test result, you know almost nothing conclusive.
For DNA testing, for example, the testing labs don't publish, and the courts do not allow questions regarding, their base rate false positive rate. They're worried that juries wouldn't be able to reconcile the "0.5% of DNA tests are false positives" with "beyond a reasonable doubt".
If you don't know the false positive rate, and someone comes in with a positive test result, you know almost nothing conclusive.