AI algorithms such as facial recognition systems produce probabilities, not facts

Published May 12, 2026 6:00AM (EDT)

A security camera is seen on McAllister Street in San Francisco, California, (Photo by Gabrielle Lurie/Getty Images)

This article was originally published on The Conversation .

In Baltimore on Oct. 20, 2025, a 17-year-old student named Taki Allen was sitting outside his high school after football practice when an artificial intelligence-enhanced surveillance camera falsely identified the Doritos bag in his pocket as a gun . Within moments police cars arrived, officers drew their weapons and Allen was forced to his knees and handcuffed while they searched him. All they found was a crumpled bag of chips. The AI’s misidentification and the human decisions that followed turned a normal evening into a traumatic confrontation.

On Dec.…