Facial recognition software leads to wrong man arrested for flashing

NYPD arrested the wrong man, because facial recognition marked a match. Maria Cramer and Kashmir Hill report for the New York Times:

Like Mr. Williams, the culprit was Black, had a thick beard and mustache, and wore his hair in braids. Physically, the two men had little else in common. Mr. Williams was not only taller, he also weighed 230 pounds. The victim said the delivery man appeared to weigh about 160 pounds. But Mr. Williams still spent more than two days in jail in April.

“In the blink of an eye, your whole life could change,” Mr. Williams said.

It’s clear that facial recognition can be useful for finding people, but without considering outside information, officers use the tool wrong. If they cannot use the tool correctly, then they should not use the tool.