AI Gun Detection System Mistakes Doritos Bag for Weapon at Baltimore High School, Sparking Police Response

Armed police surround teen after AI mistakes crisp packet for gun

Mr Allen said he now waits inside after football practice, as he does not think it is "safe enough to go outside, especially eating a bag of chips or drinking something". In a letter to parents, school principal Kate Smith said the school's safety team "quickly reviewed and cancelled the initial alert after confirming there was no weapon". "I contacted our school resource officer (SRO) and reported the matter to him, and he contacted the local precinct for additional support," she said. "Police officers responded to the school, searched the individual and quickly confirmed that they were not in possession of any weapons." However, local politicians have called for further investigation into the incident. "I am calling on Baltimore County Public Schools to review procedures around its AI-powered weapon detection system," Baltimore County local councilman Izzy Pakota wrote on Facebook. The BBC has approached Omnilert, the reported provider of the AI tool, for comment. Omnilert says it is a "leading provider" of AI gun detection - citing a number of US schools among its case studies on its website. The company claims its tech uses real, diverse data, leading to "more reliable detection, fewer false positives, and a system that actually works where it matters most". "Real-world gun detection is messy," it states. "Lighting varies, weapons come in all shapes, and environments are full of noise and movement. "Our data-centric methodology trains AI to succeed in these exact scenarios -- because we use real data from real conditions, not simulations." But Mr Allen said: "I don't think no chip bag should be mistaken for a gun at all." The adequacy of AI to accurately identify weapons has been subject to scrutiny. Last year, a US weapons scanning company Evolv Technology was banned from making unsupported claims about its products after saying its AI scanner, used in thousands of US schools, hospitals and stadiums entrances, could detect all weapons.

Teen Swarmed by Cops After AI Metal Detector Flags His Doritos Bag as a Gun

Further evidence that artificial intelligence is not all that intelligent has been provided by an unfortunate incident in Baltimore, where, thanks to an AI-guided security system, local police nearly arrested a teenager for the crime of...eating Doritos? According to NBC affiliate WBAL-TV 11, a teenager who entered his high school's campus through an automated security system had a crumpled-up bag of chips in his pocket. The system appears to have flagged the bag as a weapon, the outlet writes. The boy in question, Taki Allen, says that, following his football practice, he was sitting outside the school with a group of his friends when a large band of police officers showed up. "It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us. At first, I didn't know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, 'Get on the ground,' and I was like, 'What?'" Allen told WBAL-TV 11 News. "They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me," the teen added. "Then, they searched me, and they figured out I had nothing. Then, they went over to where I was standing and found a bag of chips on the floor." When asked what he was thinking about as the ordeal unfolded, Allen replied: “It was mainly like, am I gonna die? Are they going to kill me? They showed me the picture, said that looks like a gun, I said, â€~no, it’s chips.’†A statement provided by the school's principal to the news outlet sheds more light on the incident: At approximately 7 p.m., school administration received an alert that an individual on school grounds may have been in possession of a weapon. The Department of School Safety and Security quickly reviewed and canceled the initial alert after confirming there was no weapon. I contacted our school resource officer (SRO) and reported the matter to him, and he contacted the local precinct for additional support. Police officers responded to the school, searched the individual and quickly confirmed that they were not in possession of any weapons. Neither police nor school officials have confirmed the involvement of the Doritos bag, but they haven't denied it either. Gizmodo reached out to Allen's school, Kenwood High School, as well as to Baltimore County police for comment. WBAL-TV 11 says the company behind the detector, Omnilert (which calls itself a "pioneer in AI-powered active shooter prevention technology"), provides security systems for Baltimore County Public Schools. The outlet says that Allen's school began using the company's software last year to detect potential threats to campus. Omnilert's website states that it sells an AI gun detection solution to schools. Gizmodo reached out to Omnilert for comment.

US student handcuffed after AI system apparently mistook bag of chips for firearm

Baltimore county high schools have gun detection system that alerts police if it sees what it deems suspicious An artificial intelligence system (AI) apparently mistook a high school student's bag of Doritos for a firearm and called local police to tell them the pupil was armed. Taki Allen was sitting with friends on Monday night outside Kenwood high school in Baltimore and eating a snack when police officers with guns approached him. "At first, I didn't know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, 'Get on the ground,' and I was like, 'What?'" Allen told the WBAL-TV 11 News television station. Allen said they made him get on his knees, handcuffed and searched him - finding nothing. They then showed him a copy of the picture that had triggered the alert. "I was just holding a Doritos bag - it was two hands and one finger out, and they said it looked like a gun," Allen said. Baltimore county high schools last year began using a gun detection system using school cameras and AI to detect potential weapons. If it spots something it believes to be suspicious, it sends an alert to the school and law enforcement. In a letter to school families obtained by WBAL TV 11 News, the school wrote: "We understand how upsetting this was for the individual that was searched as well as the other students who witnessed the incident. Our counselors will provide direct support to the students who were involved in this incident and are also available to speak with any student who may need support." Baltimore county police told the outlet: "Officers assigned to Precinct 11-Essex responded to Kenwood High School following a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. Once on scene, the person was searched and it was determined the subject was not in possession of any weapons." Lamont Davis, Allen's grandfather, told the television station: "Nobody wants this to happen to their child. No one wants this to happen."

Body cam shows Baltimore County officers stunned after gun scare was just a bag of chips

WJZ has obtained the body cam footage of police confronting a student at Kenwood High School after an A.I. gun detection system mistakenly detected that a student had a weapon. Baltimore County leaders are now calling for a review of that system. During the footage from Monday's incident, officers are seen approaching the student, searching him, and then stunned when they themselves realize what A.I. flagged as a gun was just a bag of Doritos chips. With guns drawn, Baltimore County Police surrounded a group of students after the Omnilert AI Gun Detection System warned school leaders that a student had a gun. Body camera footage shows police detaining all of those students and then searching one of them. Though the student never had a gun. Instead, what Omnilert detected was a bag of chips. After confirming there was no weapon, the Department of School Safety and Security reviewed and canceled the initial alert. "Just so you guys are aware...basically, the cameras around the system, they pick up on things that look like guns...I guess just the way you were eating chips...Doritos, whatever.... it picked it up as a gun," an officer explained. Officials with the school and Omnilert said the system was working properly, but county leaders have called for its review, concerned that the false alarm traumatized the students. "How did it come to be that we had police officers with guns drawn approaching a kid because of a bag of Doritos?" said Julian Jones, Baltimore County Councilman. "...the program did what it was supposed to do, which was signal an alert and for humans to take a look to find out if there was cause for concern in that moment," Myriam Rodgers, the superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, explained during a press conference. As police conclude their investigation, one of the responding officers is heard pointing out the system's faults on bodycam footage, stating, "AI is not the best." Kenwood's principal wrote in a letter to the school community that counseling will be provided to the students who were involved in the incident and will be available to any student who may need support.