While politicians debate AI safety in Delhi and we worry about algorithms, a more immediate crisis is unfolding behind Britain's prison walls. Deaths marked as 'awaiting further information' — the grim bureaucratic category for unexplained fatalities — surged to 45 cases in 2024, up from just 10 the year before.

That's a 350% increase in deaths so unclear that investigators can't even classify how they happened (Source: Ministry of Justice, Safety in Custody -- Deaths_in_prison_custody_1978_to_2024_accessible -- Table_1_2). These aren't the suicides or natural deaths that dominate prison mortality statistics. These are the question marks — deaths so complex or poorly documented that months later, officials still don't know what killed someone.

The timing matters. Britain's prison population hit record highs in 2024, with facilities running at 99% capacity. Overcrowding doesn't just mean less space — it means fewer staff per prisoner, delayed medical care, and overwhelmed investigation processes when something goes wrong.

Compare this to 2019, when 'awaiting further info' deaths numbered just 8. Even during the chaos of early COVID in 2020, only 12 cases fell into this limbo category. The current figure represents the highest number since 2017, when 47 deaths remained unexplained.

What makes a prison death so unclear it defies classification? Sometimes it's a medical emergency that happens too fast for proper documentation. Sometimes it's violence that unfolds without witnesses. Often it's the intersection of mental health crises, substance abuse, and institutional failures that create a perfect storm investigators struggle to untangle.

The human cost is obvious. But there's a system cost too: every unexplained death triggers lengthy inquests, internal reviews, and potential legal action. Resources that could prevent future deaths get tied up explaining past ones.

Prison reform advocates have long argued that transparency around deaths is the first step toward preventing them. When nearly one in ten prison deaths in 2024 can't even be properly categorised months later, it suggests a system too overwhelmed to learn from its failures.

While we debate the future dangers of artificial intelligence, the immediate danger is simpler: a justice system stretched so thin that when someone dies in state custody, we can't even figure out why.