AI use in police investigations is a controversial topic for many reasons, but that didn’t stop the Green Cove Springs Police Department in Florida from taking a gander at using the tech. Posting to their official Facebook page, the city’s local authorities shared a picture of a man caught stealing a bike. The issue is that the shot is so blurry, it’s challenging to identify him, which is why the police department had the bright idea of using AI to enhance the suspect’s image.
Unfortunately for them, this decision was not well-received, as hundreds of comments on both Facebook and Reddit expressed concern about police using AI to identify people. To be fair, Green Cove Springs police did mention how they would never use AI “for a positive identification.” Though the post ended with the rather passive-aggressive remark: “You either have helpful information or you don’t.”
The Internet Slams Green Cove Springs Police of Florida for Using AI in An Investigation
Despite the police’s disclosure about their AI use, people didn’t hesitate to drag the department for believing AI could be helpful in identifying an incredibly blurry image of a suspect. “This could literally be Will Smith and no one would know,” joked a Redditor. “Extraordinarily dangerous precedent,” remarked a second commenter.
“This is so incredibly irresponsible and dangerous,” exclaimed a concerned Facebook user. “That AI is going to get somebody falsely arrested,” wrote another. Dozens of others added how the two images, the fuzzy original and the AI-enhanced suspect, had little in common besides a few general features. “You shouldn’t even be presenting this to the public,” demanded a third.
According to Florida’s Green Cove Springs Police, they blame comments “requesting AI renditions because of the poor quality of the photos” as justification for AI use. Regardless of what the department’s excuse is for this, many people are certain AI is not developed enough to be used in crime solving, especially when it comes to facial recognition or “enhancing.”
YouTuber The Civil Rights Lawyer uploaded a viral video of police being told by AI to arrest an innocent person who wasn’t the suspect. Of course, human error exists in investigations as well, but plenty still strongly believe that the Green Cove Springs Police is “unbelievably irresponsible” for their decision to use AI like this.
