An innocent man was arrested after AI facial recognition misidentified him as a “100% match” for another individual. Jason Killinger was visiting Peppermill Casino in Reno, Nevada, when AI facial recognition software flagged him as a match for a homeless man who was banned for trespassing.
Killinger was held for 11 hours before being transferred to the county jail. Killinger produced his proper government identification to officers who chose to believe the AI software over the government-issued driver’s license, vehicle registration, and UPS pay slip. He later sued the casino for violating his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.
Instances of AI software misidentifying innocent individuals is on the rise. Humans seem to believe this fancy new technology over their own reality. In another instance, a Middle School student was misidentified as a potential school shooter for holding a clarinet. “We have multiple layers of school safety, including an automated system that detects potential threats. A student was walking in the hallway, holding a musical instrument as if it were a weapon, which triggered the Code Red to activate,” the principal said. “While there was no threat to campus, I’d like to ask you to speak with your student about the dangers of pretending to have a weapon on a school campus,” Laudani added.
Earlier in the year, a 16-year-old student in Baltimore was flagged by AI software for waving a gun, when in actuality, the student was holding a bag of Doritos chips. “It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us,” the student later reported. “They started walking toward me with guns, talking about ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?’” The student was handcuffed at gunpoint BEFORE officers reviewed the images. “If I eat another bag of chips or drink something, I feel like they’re going to come again,” the student rightfully questioned.
Cameras with similar technology are being installed in a public space near you. Nearly every public area is adopting AI technology without providing guidance on how it works. Not only must you prove your innocence to the authorities, but you must bypass new technology that the mindless drones, “following orders,” have put their full faith in.
Expect these dystopian stories to continue as government surveillance becomes commonplace. They’re no longer hiding the fact that they’re watching us.
