Wrongfully Accused by an Algorithm - The New York Times

In what may be the first known case of its kind, a faulty facial recognition match led to a Michigan man’s arrest for a crime he did not commit. “This is not me,” Robert Julian-Borchak Williams told investigators. “You think all Black men look alike?” Credit... Sylvia Jarrus for The New York Times Supported by By Kashmir Hill Note: In response to this article, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office said that Robert Julian-Borchak Williams could have the case and his fingerprint data expunged. “We apologize,” the prosecutor, Kym L. Worthy, said in a statement, adding, “This does not in any way make up for the hours that Mr. Williams spent in jail.” Open this article in the New York Times Audio app on iOS. To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. On a Thursday afternoon in January, Robert Julian-Borchak Williams was in his office at an automotive supply company when he got a call from the Detroit Police Department telling him

In what may be the first known case of its kind, a faulty facial recognition match led to a Michigan man’s arrest for a crime he did not commit. “This is not me,” Robert Julian-Borchak Williams told investigators. “You think all Black men look alike?” Credit... Sylvia Jarrus for The New York Times Supported by By Kashmir Hill Note: In response to this article, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office said that Robert Julian-Borchak Williams could have the case and his fingerprint data expunged. “We apologize,” the prosecutor, Kym L. Worthy, said in a statement, adding, “This does not in any way ma