AI misidentification puts innocent woman behind bars

Angela Lipps, a 50-year-old American from Tennessee, spent six months in prison after a facial recognition system misidentified her as a suspect in a bank fraud case in North Dakota. She said she had never been to the state, the Guardian reported.

Police in Fargo identified her as a suspect after analysing surveillance footage using facial recognition software. Investigators said she matched the suspect in facial features, build and hairstyle. Lipps was arrested by US Marshals at her home and held without bail.

She was charged with four counts of theft and unauthorised use of personal information. More than three months after her arrest, she was transferred to North Dakota. She was later released after her lawyer presented evidence that she had been more than 1,900 miles from the scene at the time of the offences.

Lipps said she lost her house, car and dog while in custody and that police did not apologise. Similar cases of misidentification involving artificial intelligence have been reported in other countries.

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