The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would forbid law enforcement from prosecuting an Alabamian solely on the basis of artificial intelligence (AI) using facial recognition technology.
Senate Bill 66 is sponsored by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur).
According to the synopsis, “This bill would prohibit state or local law enforcement agencies from using artificial intelligence or a facial recognition service to engage in ongoing surveillance except for in certain circumstances. This bill would prohibit the results of artificial intelligence or a facial recognition service from being the sole basis for making an arrest or for establishing probable cause in a criminal investigation. This bill would also prohibit artificial intelligence or a facial recognition service from being used as a way to identify an individual based on other images...The results of a facial recognition service may be used only in conjunction with other information and evidence lawfully obtained by a law enforcement officer to establish probable cause in a criminal investigation or to make an arrest.”
"This is a bill that went out of the Senate, I believe unanimously last year,” Orr said. “This is something I came across in a newspaper article in 2020.”
Orr explained that law enforcement is using images in prosecutions.
“Let's say I rob a liquor store and there is video in the liquor store,” Orr said. “If law enforcement uses artificial intelligence to compare the liquor store video with all of the driver’s license photos.”
There have been a lot of “inaccuracies and false positives” with this Orr explained.
This legislation would not prevent law enforcement from using artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to solve crimes, but it would “require independent evidence” in addition to the AI match with a photo database in order to get a conviction or make an arrest.
The bill also forbids law enforcement from using artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to identify a subject based on a sketch or drawing.
SB56 is co-sponsored by Sens. Singleton, Smitherman, Whatley, Scofield, Stutts, Price and Chesteen. It passed the Alabama Senate on a 30 to zero vote.
The bill now goes to the Alabama House of Representatives where it stalled in the 2021 regular session.
Wednesday will be day five of the 2022 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. Both Houses of the Legislature will meet this afternoon for late afternoon sessions following a day of work in committees.
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