Māori woman wrongfully accused of shoplifting after facial recognition misidentification at New World supermarket leading to racial discrimination complaint
Summary
On April 2, 2024, Te Ani Solomon was shopping at New World Westend in Rotorua, New Zealand when staff confronted her after facial recognition matched her to a trespassed shoplifter. Despite presenting three forms of ID, staff questioned her for ten minutes in front of her teenage son before she left in tears. Foodstuffs acknowledged 'genuine human error' and apologised. AI experts noted the system was trained on international datasets that did not adequately represent Māori and Pasifika people. Solomon filed a complaint with the Human Rights Review Tribunal alleging racial discrimination.
Incident Details
Automated systems that produce discriminatory outcomes based on protected characteristics.
Differential treatment or outcomes based on protected characteristics.
Who Was Affected
Sources
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