Foodstuffs Sorry After AI Misidentifies Maori buyer As Shoplifter

Foodstuffs has apologised after its new AI facial recognition tool wrongly identified a Maori woman at a New World store as a shoplifter. 

Te Ani Solomon was shopping at an outlet in Rotorua on April 2, 2024–her birthday–when staffers accosted her and took her to the side, news website 1News reported on Monday. 

Solomon said she produced identification documents while trying to reason with store management she wasn’t the person they were looking for. 

"It didn't seem to change their mind which was already made up based on what they saw," the news report quoted Solomon as saying. 

New World's mothership, Foodstuffs, is testing new technology that tries to match faces of customers to those known to have stolen previously in a bid to curb a shoplifting epidemic that has plagued businesses across New Zealand.  

Speaking to Breakfast, Solomon was asked whether she thought race was one of the reasons she was wrongly identified. 

"Unfortunately, it will be the experience of many Kiwis if we don't have some rules and regulations around this [technology],” the news reported quoted her saying.

The Privacy Commission has previously raised concerns about bias within the technology, which can misidentify women and, particularly, women of colour.

Foodstuffs has since apologised to Solomon for what it describes as a "human error". In a statement to Breakfast, a spokesperson said the customer "has every right" to be upset.

"We can completely understand her reaction. When we make a mistake we own it and act quickly to put things right, and this morning the store has undergone an operational audit and all appropriate team members will receive further training on required protocols.

We apologise to the customer and will be contacting her directly to apologise for what has happened."

The report on 1News goes on to quote Solomon as saying she doesn't believe companies should be using the technology due to its potential bias.

"It has made me, unfortunately, explain to my son what racism is,” she reportedly said, adding she was now "paranoid about being labelled as a thief" when she does her shopping.