The Microsoft AI Bias Police Decision
One of the main challenges of AI bias has been placed under real test: "Microsoft turned down a request from a Californian law enforcement agency to install its facial recognition technology in cop cars and body cameras, because of racial bias in its A.I. software—the system is mostly trained on white and male faces, so installation in this context would lead to too many innocent women and minorities being held for questioning (Fortune newsletter)".
Microsoft said in December it would be open about shortcomings in its facial recognition and asked customers to be transparent about how they intended to use it, while stopping short of ruling out sales to police.
Smith has called for greater regulation of facial recognition and other uses of artificial intelligence, and he warned Tuesday that without that, companies amassing the most data might win the race to develop the best AI in a “race to the bottom.”
Simply, there is chance that most black faces will be matched unlike white faces where the AI already knows they [white faces] are unique. Simply, if one black guy has a police problem, most blacks can be flagged by the AI and arrested.
Microsoft has shown leadership here: I do hope the police should give it more funds to ensure this technology overcomes the racial bias.
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