(HorizonPost.com) – When it comes to law enforcement activities, the application of artificial intelligence has a sinister air.
Reports show after Americans discovered that San Francisco has an actual ‘killer robot’ program, the city recently suspended it. In certain extreme situations, the use of robotic aids similar to those dispatched to examine and contain bombs has been approved. Sending a robot to evaluate and respond to a human situation seems like a surefire way to make egregious errors.
According to reports, a Georgia man was recently arrested on a warrant from Louisiana due to facial recognition technology. Last November, Randall Reid, age 28, was apprehended in DeKalb County, Georgia. Authorities in Jefferson Parish and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had linked him to a string of handbag thefts.
They informed Reid that he had an outstanding warrant out of Jefferson Parish. He said he had never visited Louisiana in his entire life, and he does not steal.
The authorities in Baton Rouge issued an arrest warrant after facial recognition software linked surveillance images to Reid’s Georgia identification documents. Georgia authorities carried out the arrest warrant and incarcerated Reid.
Reports show Reid was released after discovering significant differences between the two men. Reid had a facial mole, whereas the suspect did not. In addition, there was at least a forty-pound disparity between the men. The only similarity between them was that they were both black.
This has reignited concerns regarding the inherent risk of relying on technology in law enforcement situations. Black people and other minority groups are known to be misidentified by facial recognition software at a much higher rate than white people.
According to an MIT study, three commercial recognition systems had error rates of up to 34% for dark-skinned women, nearly 49 times that of white men,
A study by the Department of Commerce late last year revealed similar results.
China already uses facial recognition to monitor its citizens in virtually every aspect of their lives. This alone should make any American pause before adopting this technology.
Where does “Georgia Man” go to get his reputation back?
Copyright 2023, HorizonPost.com
