Abstract
For many years, the traditional approach in psychology and criminology has been to take a complex issue (such as violence) and seek to understand it by breaking it down and measuring individual behaviors or predictors. The papers in this issue highlight the advances being made in computational modeling of complex phenomena and this commentary highlights the importance of a systems approach to understanding the dynamics of these phenomena. Notably, big data can be analyzed in many ways. At its simplest level it could mean using statistics to test hypotheses generated from theory or examining any statistical relationships. Other methods include artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and deep learning. AI is, in essence, the ability of machines to think like humans (e.g., face recognition). Machine learning is a part of AI but different. This method uses algorithms to acquire data, learn, and then analyze the data. Deep learning is the implementation of machine learning—It does not require interference from the programmer but rather learns on its own.