As the presence of artificial intelligence in everyday life increases, so too do novel use cases. And, as the Washington Post reported, that has extended to police sketches.
According to the Post, the Goodyear Police Department in Goodyear, Arizona, turned to AI during an investigation into a shooting that occurred in November. The department "released an apparent mug shot of their suspect," with one arguably dystopian caveat.
"This AI-generated image is based on victim/witness statements and does not depict a real person," it read.
The Goodyear Police Department maintained that the photorealistic image was created using standard composite sketch techniques based on witness statements. However, the police then "fed it into ChatGPT" to produce what appeared to be a mugshot.
The outlet noted that police departments have increasingly adopted AI tools for various applications, but that Goodyear Police looked to be "one of the first" to apply them this way.
AI tools have become controversial for a number of reasons, their accuracy in life-or-death scenarios — like medicine or law enforcement — chief among them.
More broadly, concerns about their environmental impact have emerged as AI's scope in daily life increases. While firms like OpenAI and Amazon are reluctant to disclose information about their ecological costs, research and community feedback indicate that they are substantial.
AI data centers consume immense amounts of power, spiking demand and electric bills. These facilities also strain water resources and diminish the quality of life for nearby communities.
As for AI-generated police sketches, experts warned of issues such as invisible training biases and, more generally, the legal process veering into largely uncharted territory.
George Washington University law professor Andrew Ferguson told the Post that sketch artists can testify in court if required, which was not true of ChatGPT.
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Absolutely 💯 "In court, we all know how drawing works and can evaluate how much reliability to give the human drawn sketch. In court, no one knows how the AI works," he explained. Users on Reddit's r/Phoenix expressed similar reservations.
"Going to be weird when it generates a likeness that is similar to an innocent person … I know an actual sketch could do the same, but at least those are not hyper realistic," one said.
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