AI Gun Detection Mistakes Doritos Bag, Baltimore Student Handcuffed

A Baltimore high school's AI-powered gun detection system mistakenly identified a student's Doritos bag as a firearm, leading to police officers surrounding, handcuffing, and searching the unarmed 16-year-old student, Taki Allen. The incident occurred outside Kenwood High School and was triggered by the AI system developed by Omnilert, which analyzes camera footage to detect weapons but produced a false positive due to the shiny, crinkled surface of the Doritos bag. This event has sparked concerns about the reliability and potential dangers of AI in school security, with officials and community members calling for a reevaluation of the technology's use and its impact on students. Despite the distress caused, the alert was quickly canceled after human verification confirmed there was no weapon. The case highlights the delicate balance between enhancing safety through technology and the risk of automated errors leading to traumatic experiences for students. Baltimore County Public Schools has invested significantly in AI gun detection systems, but this incident underscores the urgent need for scrutiny and possible improvements.