August 8th 2023.
Many people are skeptical of the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and facial recognition, particularly people of color, as many AI developers and the technology can be biased against those who don't look like them. This has been a source of major concern, and in Detroit, a Black woman is taking the city to court after she was wrongfully arrested due to a facial recognition error.
The Washington Post reported that Porcha Woodruff, who was eight months pregnant at the time, was arrested at her home by six Detroit police officers. She was charged with robbery and carjacking based on facial recognition software which erroneously matched a picture taken eight years prior when she was once detained for a driving with an expired license. In addition, the victim had pointed out the old photo of her in a lineup.
Woodruff then filed a lawsuit against the city of Detroit and a detective in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. She alleged false arrest, false imprisonment, and a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights to be protected from unreasonable seizures. Woodruff is the third person to sue Detroit police due to a false arrest caused by faulty recognition software.
Her lawsuit stated, "Facial recognition technology has long been known for its inherent flaws and unreliability, particularly when attempting to identify Black individuals such as Porcha Woodruff. It should be understood that facial recognition alone cannot serve as probable cause for arrests."
When Woodruff asked the officers how she could be guilty of a recent carjacking when she was eight months pregnant, her plea was ignored and she was taken to the Detroit Detention Center. Detective LaShauntia Oliver, who is also named in the lawsuit, told Woodruff that the victim did not describe the suspect as being pregnant. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the police department refused to use a recent driver's license photo of Woodruff in the facial recognition software and did not ask the suspect if they recognized Woodruff.
In March 2023, the case against Woodruff was dropped. However, the trauma of being arrested has caused the victim anxiety, depression, and extreme stress on top of a pregnancy that was already difficult.
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