The misuse of facial recognition technology has led to the arrest of innocent people. One such case involved Robert Williams, who was jailed based on misidentification by facial recognition technology, according to Blavity.
In 2018, a store security camera in Detroit captured a person stealing. It was then analyzed by AI facial-recognition software, leading to the arrest of Williams two years later.
“The day I was arrested I had no idea it was facial recognition. I was arrested for no reason,” Williams told Newsweek.
But there was a problem— the reliance on AI technology led to the wrongful jailing of Williams, with him being apprehended in front of his wife and two young daughters. He said he wasn’t told why he was being arrested, even while being detained for 30 hours.
After the wrongful arrest, Detroit’s Chief of Police James E. White, stated, “There are a number of checks and balances in place to ensure ethical use of facial recognition, including: use on live or recorded video is prohibited; supervisor oversight; and weekly and annual reporting to the Board of Police Commissioners on the use of the software.”
However, Alex Najibi at Harvard University noted that advocates fear that AI technology will unfairly affect African Americans and is reminiscent of antebellum practices of identification of Blacks. “In 18th century New York, ‘lantern laws’ required enslaved people to carry lanterns after dark to be publicly visible,” Najibi wrote.
She explained that such technologies, even if accurate, could be “applied with the same spirit, disproportionately harming the Black community in line with existing racist patterns of law enforcement.”
In March, legislation was introduced that would prevent government officials from using AI tech to solve crimes. It is called the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act.
In response to Williams’ case, the Michigan chapter of ACLU demanded that police stop using AI tech to solve crimes.
Williams was released two weeks prior to his trial and his case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be reopened in the future. He is now suing the Detroit Police Department for both the embarrassment and the trauma endured during his arrest.
“We know that facial recognition technology threatens everyone’s privacy by turning everybody into a suspect,” said Phil Mayor, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan. “We’ve repeatedly urged the Detroit Police Department to abandon its use of this dangerous technology, but it insists on using it anyhow. Justice requires that DPD and its officers be held accountable.”
