AI Mistake Leads US Police to Handcuff Innocent Teen

A 16-year-old student in Baltimore County was handcuffed by police after an AI security system incorrectly identified a bag of chips as a firearm. Taki Allen, a high school athlete, told WMAR-2 News that police arrived in force. “There were like eight police cars,” he said. “They all came out with guns pointed at me, shouting to get on the ground.” 

The police department stated that officers acted based on information received through the school’s alert system. The department clarified that Allen was handcuffed during the encounter but not formally arrested. The situation, they added, was resolved safely once it was determined there was no threat. 

According to school officials, the situation began when an AI-powered alert system detected what it believed was a firearm. That alert was passed to human reviewers, who determined there was no threat. However, school administrators reportedly missed that update and contacted their internal safety team, which then notified the police. 

In a letter to parents, the school principal said the alert had been “quickly reviewed and cancelled” after staff confirmed no weapon was involved. However, by the time that was communicated, the police were already on their way. 

Allen said he had just finished football practice and placed an empty Doritos bag in his pocket before heading home. Roughly 20 minutes later, police officers arrived and ordered him to the ground. 

The incident has prompted questions about the reliability of AI-based surveillance systems in schools. County council member Izzy Patoka urged the school system to reexamine its protocols, stating on Facebook that a full review of the technology was necessary. 

Omnilert, the company behind the detection software, expressed regret over what happened. In a statement to BBC News, the firm said its system detected an object resembling a gun, which was reviewed and passed to school security within seconds. The company added that its platform functioned as it was supposed to, emphasizing that its role ended once the case was marked resolved. 

Allen, however, remains unconvinced by any explanations. “A chip bag should not ever look like a gun,” he said. 

Experts have long raised concerns about the accuracy of AI systems in identifying weapons. Last year, Evolv Technology, another firm in the field, was banned from making unsubstantiated claims that its scanners could detect all weapons after a BBC investigation found those claims to be false. 

It is nearly impossible to develop new technology that is completely error-free in the initial years of deployment, and so tech firms like D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) in other industry verticals expect some errors in their groundbreaking work and are constantly working to improve their solutions so that these errors are isolated rather than a norm. 

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/QBTS 

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