That system might need a slight adjustment
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay, and it’s becoming an increasingly common part of our lives. Sometimes, it’s even being used to keep us all safe.
And sometimes, it does a little too good a job on this front.
Kenwood High School in Baltimore County, Md., is using an AI-powered security system to help keep students safe.
However, according to WMAR, 16-year-old Taki Allen was with his friends outside the school, enjoying a bag of Doritos. No word on the flavor (let’s assume nacho cheese — a solid choice), but when he finished, Allen did the responsible thing and slipped the bag into his pocket instead of tossing it on the ground.
Mistake.
About 20 minutes later, police officers with their guns drawn arrived on the scene.
“Police showed up, like eight cop cars, and then they all came out with guns pointed at me, talking about getting on the ground. I was putting my hands up like, ‘What’s going on?’ He told me to get on my knees and arrested me and put me in cuffs,” Allen said.
Police found the Doritos bag and then showed Allen a photo from the AI security system, which mistook the bag for a firearm.
A rack of firearms… no, wait; those are bags of Doritos. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
I’m no security expert, but I feel like this shouldn’t happen. I mean, if you showed me flash cards with pictures of crumpled Doritos bags and firearms, I could probably identify them with at least a 90% success rate, which is apparently better than that security system.
However, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and while this wasn’t a fun experience for anyone involved, it beats the opposite happening: mistaking a weapon for a sack of Doritos.
It did make me wonder if this had something to do with the AI aspect of the system. AI is designed to continue learning, and if its goal is student safety, what if it were just trying to protect them from the dangers of processed junk food like Doritos?
If that was the case, there’s probably a better way to sound the alarm than calling the cops.
Read the full article here
