We're Not One of Them. We're One of You.

At the Libertarian Institute, we feature independent intellectuals who strive to understand our world and communicate that understanding to you. We don’t work for Lockheed or K Street or Qatar. We work for you. Support the Libertarian Institute Today!

$2,706 of $60,000 raised

‘The Computer Got It Wrong’: How Facial Recognition Led To False Arrest Of Black Man

by | Jun 24, 2020

‘The Computer Got It Wrong’: How Facial Recognition Led To False Arrest Of Black Man

by | Jun 24, 2020

Check out this story from NPR about the false imprisonment of a man based on facial recognition technology.

What’s interesting to me is the first part of the headline: Ain’t nobody’s fault! The box did it!

This is a theme heavily explored by the great Neil Postman in his book Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, the diffusion of responsibility from those who possess political authority onto the sophisticated tools that they use to oppress us.

As you’ll see, the pigs went off the computer hit alone, did no other corroborative police work whatsoever before arresting this innocent man in front of his young children.

Artificial Intelligence is absolutely stupid as hell. It isn’t real. It’s just an algorithm. It’s electricity on a card. It thinks all black men look alike. But human beings invest a completely unwarranted belief in computers as superior beings to ourselves. They can detect lies, determine medical treatments and find all the bad shoplifters if only we turn over our power and decision-making to them.

And they also serve as great scapegoats for the decisions of human beings about what happens to others.

Scott Horton

Scott Horton

Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He is the author of four books. He has conducted more than 6,000 interviews since 2003. Scott lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Larisa Alexandrovna Horton.

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

15 books

Recent Articles

Recent

Comply or Be Burned to the Ground

The IED nonsense continues at professional military education institutions as the zampolits flee for cover. "The Engagement, Retention, and Equal Opportunity directly supports the Naval Academy's Strategic Imperative One: To recruit, admit, and graduate a diverse and...

read more

National Greatness

“A nation which makes greatness its polestar can never be free; beneath national greatness sink individual greatness, honor, wealth and freedom. But though history, experience and reasoning confirm these ideas; yet all- powerful delusion has been able to make the...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This