Worries about AI monitoring in schools are growing after police surrounded a 16-year-old student near Kenwood High School in Baltimore. This happened because an AI system mistakenly identified a bag of Doritos as a gun.
On October 20th, Taki Allen was with friends after football practice when several police cars arrived unexpectedly.
Allen described a scene where around eight police cars arrived, and officers approached him with guns drawn, immediately ordering him to get on the ground. He said he was confused and asked, ‘What?’
He explained that the officers forced him to kneel, put his hands behind his back, and handcuffed him. After that, they searched him, but didn’t find anything.
Allen was arrested at gunpoint after police mistakenly thought a crumpled bag of Doritos in his pocket was a weapon. They later showed him the image from an AI system that had flagged the object as a potential gun.
I was mostly just worried about whether I was going to be killed. They showed me a photo and claimed it was a gun, but I told them it was actually potato chips.
Student afraid to return to school after AI sends police after him
The AI system involved in the incident is Omnilert’s gun detection technology, which Baltimore County Public Schools started using last year. It works by reviewing existing security camera footage and immediately notifying the police if it thinks it spots a weapon.
Omnilert acknowledged the alert was a mistake, but maintained the system worked correctly. They explained it’s designed to quickly check if a situation is real to ensure safety and awareness.
Baltimore County Public Schools sent a letter to parents repeating the company’s announcement and offering support services to students who were affected by the event.
The principal acknowledged the incident was disturbing for both the student who was searched and those who saw it happen. School counselors will be available to support all students affected.
Allen says no one from the school has reached out to him personally.
He explained that they never said they were sorry, only that their actions were standard procedure. He had hoped someone would at least discuss the situation with him.
The teen now says he no longer feels safe going to school.
Allen said that if he eats more chips or has a drink, he feels sick to his stomach again.
This situation has reopened discussions about how trustworthy AI surveillance systems are and what happens when they’re used in everyday life, particularly in schools.
This situation arises as more organizations begin using artificial intelligence. Just recently, Major General William ‘Hank’ Taylor, a high-ranking officer in the US Army, revealed he had used ChatGPT to help make important military choices.
The UK recently implemented new rules to verify the age of people accessing adult content, using facial scans to confirm users are over 18. However, the system has caused issues for some adults, including a heavily tattooed man who was told to “remove his face” because the scan mistook his tattoos for a mask.
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2025-10-23 18:19