In an effort to avoid a dystopian sci-fi future where Artificial Intelligence knows pretty much everything about you, and a team of cops led by Tom Cruise run around arresting people for crimes they did not commit because of bad predictive analysis; Bernie Sanders and other Democratic candidates have some proposals on how we can stop it.
Recently Bernie Sanders unveiled a proposal that would outright ban the use of facial recognition for law enforcement purposes. It's part of a bigger proposal for a massive overhaul of the criminal justice system. It also comes on the heels of news and studies that have shown how wrong facial recognition algorithms can be, and the kind of damage these programs can do if deployed for law enforcement purposes.
A Georgetown University study found that the NYPD detectives used some creative methods to manipulate their facial recognition system to try and capture a shoplifter. Creative in this case means that the detective thought that the suspect looked like Woody Harrelson from blurry in-store security footage, and then fed a photo of Woody Harrelson into the facial recognition system. An arrest was eventually made in the case.
Another report from The Verge revealed that New Orleans was using its own facial recognition, and predictive analysis system in conjunction with its city-wide network of police cameras.
But law enforcement isn't the only place where AI can wreak havoc on people's lives study conducted by UC Berkeley found that consumer lending algorithms discriminate against minorities. And the ACLU found that an experiment using Amazon's facial recognition software produced some depressing results.
We used Amazon's facial recognition tool to compare photos of members of Congress to a database of mugshots — we got 28 false matches.
And even though they only make up 20% of Congress, nearly 40% of the false matches in our test were members of color. https://t.co/WdNRWtqZfa
— ACLU (@ACLU) July 26, 2018
While Bernie Sanders's proposal seems to go the furthest some of the other Democrats will not be outdone. Elizabeth Warren recently wrote a letter to financial institutions citing the UC Berkeley study.
For generations, lenders have given African American & Latino families fewer loans at worse terms than similar white borrowers. Tech alone won't fix the problem. A new analysis found that discrimination is hardwired into lending algorithms. I want answers. https://t.co/3FNd8bljfg
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 12, 2019
Julian Castro announced that a part of his plan to turn the data tables around the police and use a database to track police wrongdoing. Corry Booker, along with three other Senators, introduced the Algorithmic Accountability Act, which would require companies to study and fix all the systemic issues that Artificial Intelligence systems have with things like facial recognition.
However, it's also important to remember this isn't just that machines are out to get us, it is first and foremost a people issue.
The systems in question did not invent or build themselves, and the statistical models that they use are completely reliant on human input. The NYPD facial recognition system requires a detective to provide an image if camera footage isn't good enough, and if someone decides that someone looks like a movie star or a composite drawing then that increases the chances that a match could be incorrect without it being the machine's fault.
The systems that financial lending institutions use require analysts and data scientists to identify the variables that determine the predictive outcome. And if the people working on the system make unconsciously biased decisions that profile certain borrowers then the outcome will understandably be one-sided.
Something else to consider is the flow of money to the development of these systems, one study found that by 2020 investments in AI-based platforms will reach $1.25 trillion dollars. With that much at stake it's easy to image that more companies and governments will feel pressured to adopt lest they cause an economic downturn by refusing them.
Maybe we need a ban, and maybe we need to pressure out politicians to continue to be on the lookout for way to limit or stop not just the adoption of poorly built systems, but also to enforce way to make their use more a little bit less prone to human error and bias.
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
- YouTubewww.youtube.com