AI School Security Mistook Doritos For A Gun

AI Security System Mistakes Snack for Weapon

An artificial intelligence security system designed to detect guns had a significant failure when it apparently identified a high school student's bag of Doritos as a firearm, leading to a police response. The incident involved student Taki Allen, who was sitting with friends and eating a snack outside Kenwood High School in Baltimore on a Monday night.

A Student's Frightening Experience

What began as a normal evening took a terrifying turn when police officers approached Allen with their guns drawn. "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 recounted in an interview.

Allen explained that officers forced him to his knees before handcuffing and searching him. Finding nothing, they showed him the photo that triggered the security alert. The image was not of a weapon but of him holding his snack. “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.

The Technology Behind the Error

This alarming false positive originated from a gun detection system that Baltimore county high schools implemented last year. The system uses AI to analyze feeds from school cameras for potential weapons. If the technology flags an object it deems suspicious, it automatically dispatches an alert to both the school and law enforcement officials, prompting an immediate response.

School and Police Respond to AI Flaw

In a letter to families, the school acknowledged the distressing nature of the incident. "We understand how upsetting this was for the individual that was searched as well as the other students who witnessed the incident," the letter stated. The school also confirmed that counselors would be available to support any students affected.

Baltimore county police provided a statement to the local news outlet, confirming their actions. “Officers... 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.”

The student's grandfather, Lamont Davis, expressed his dismay over the event. “Nobody wants this to happen to their child. No one wants this to happen,” he said.