Facial recognition technology is a proven, powerful tool for keeping communities safe, and a few procedural missteps don't change that. The Lipps case wasn't a failure of the technology itself but a failure of human oversight, and Fargo police have already moved to fix those gaps. With accuracy rates exceeding 99% and dozens of cold cases cracked nationwide, ditching facial recognition over correctable errors would leave communities far more vulnerable.
Facial recognition doesn't just make mistakes — it makes them in ways that devastate real people's lives while law enforcement faces almost zero accountability. The technology is riddled with inaccuracies, routinely used without disclosure and embedded in a sprawling surveillance apparatus that treats every American as a suspect. More training and transparency rules won't fix a system built on accountability gaps that law enforcement has historically shown no interest in closing.
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