A harmless moment became a police takedown, revealing how AI can turn ordinary kids into instant suspects.

Concerns over artificial intelligence in school security are mounting after a Baltimore teenager was detained at gunpoint when a computer vision system mistook his snack for a firearm. The episode, which unfolded outside Kenwood High School, has fueled public unease about the expanding use of AI surveillance in everyday settings.

Sixteen-year-old Taki Allen had just finished football practice on October 20 when several police cruisers raced toward him and his friends.

“It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us,” Allen told WBAL-TV 11 News. “They started walking toward me with guns, talking about ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?’”

He said officers forced him to kneel, cuffed him, and searched his pockets. Only later did they show him the image that had prompted the confrontation: an AI-generated alert that had flagged a crumpled Doritos bag as a weapon.

“It was mainly like, am I gonna die? Are they going to kill me?” he said. “They showed me the picture, said that looks like a gun, I said, ‘No, it’s chips.’”

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