Misdirected Use of Facial Recognition Technology Complicates Ohio Homicide Investigation
Cleveland police might've missed their chance to convict a suspected murderer due to a questionable use of facial recognition technology. Qeyeon Tolbert, the accused, was charged with killing Blake Story, who was fatally shot after exiting a blood plasma donation center. Investigators reportedly received an identification of a suspect from the Northeast Ohio Regional Fusion Center, which led them to Tolbert's home where a firearm and other incriminating evidence were found. However, a Cuyahoga County judge deemed this evidence inadmissible at trial.
Tolbert's legal team argued that the police's account lacked critical information. The only evidence linking Tolbert to the case was a report from Clearview AI, a facial recognition tool, stating the results were investigative leads, not solid evidence for an arrest. Misused facial recognition technology has resulted in wrongful arrests across the country, culminating in lawsuits costing investigators big.
While facial recognition tools can deliver impressive accuracy statistics in controlled settings, their effectiveness wanes in the real world, due to factors like poor-quality images and human error. The initial CCTV footage used in the Cleveland case was from six days after the incident, leading the police to identify a man resembling the shooter rather than Tolbert in the actual footage of the crime scene.
The Cleveland prosecutor's office has appealed against the court's ruling, indicating they would challenge the exclusion of evidence. Meanwhile, controversial facial recognition tools like Clearview AI pose risks from misidentifications leading to wrongful convictions to civil liberties concerns such as racial bias and mass surveillance.
In the future, there might be a need for judges to establish clear guidelines for the use of artificial-intelligence-driven technology like facial recognition in criminal investigations, to prevent misidentifications and potential wrongful convictions. The overreliance on tech tools like Clearview AI can sometimes overlook the importance of thorough human investigation and collected evidence in court cases.
