Precrime is a penalty for a crime that hasn't occurred. This was first coined in science fiction to describe societies where artificial intelligence predicts and prosecutes predicted crimes. The term precrime is also used for the growing tendency in some countries to prosecute crimes that haven't happened such as conspiracies.
Precrime vs Thoughtcrime
A precrime can be based on some prediction of what you will do based on your behavior or other factors such as your background. A thoughtcrime is a penalty for expressing or having a thought. Both terms are related to freedom of speech and the increasing ability of technology to monitor and analyze communications and behavior.
Notes
The term precrime was first coined by Philip K. Dick in the 1956 science fiction short story "The Minority Report."
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