> "They never even asked him any questions before arresting him. They never asked him if he had an alibi. They never asked if he had a red Cardinals hat. They never asked him where he was that day," said lawyer Phil Mayor with the ACLU of Michigan.
When I was fired by an automated system, no one asked if I had done something wrong. They asked me to leave. If they had just checked his alibi, he would have been cleared. But the machine said it was him, so case closed.
Not too long ago, I wrote a comment here about this [1]:
> The trouble is not that the AI can be wrong, it's that we will rely on its answers to make decisions.
> When the facial recognition software combines your facial expression and your name, while you are walking under the bridge late at night, in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and you are black; your terrorist score is at 52%. A police car is dispatched.
Most of us here can be excited about Facial Recognition technology but still know that it's not something to be deployed in the field. It's by no means ready. We might even consider the moral ethics before building it as a toy.
But that's not how it is being sold to law enforcement or other entities. It's _Reduce crime in your cities. Catch criminals in ways never thought possible. Catch terrorists before they blow up anything._ It is sold as an ultimate decision maker.
This is why I've never stopped for receipt checks, because it's my receipt, and I've paid. The security theatre is just bad comedy.
Just because the machine says I've done a no no, doesn't mean I can't come back and win a lawsuit later. It doesn't abdicate cops from their jobs. I have a winning complexion, so I'll never enjoy a false positive, but if I do, I'll make sure it bankrupts whatever startup incubator garbage decided to shill a replacement for real law enforcement.