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AIAAIC-0228

Walmart AI anti-shoplifting system accuracy, effectiveness

Walmart's AI and camera-based anti-shoplifting system provided by Ireland-based company Everseen has come under fire in the US over its reportedly poor detection rates and tendency to misinterpret innocent behaviour as potential shoplifting. A group of Walmart workers calling themselves 'Concerned Home Office Associates' circulated a video documenting flaws in the the company's 'Missed Scan Detection' system, including its regular failure to identify unscanned items, and incorrectly identifying personal items as potentially shoplifted . The system is so poor that Walmart workers have complained about it continuously since it was first introduced in 2017, and call it 'NeverSeen,' according to WIRED. System 🤖 Missed Scan Detection O perator: Walmart Developer: Everseen Country: USA Sector: Retail Purpose: Reduce scanning errors, theft Technology: CCTV; Computer vision; Machine learning Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Effectiveness/value; Surveillance

Date it happened
2020-05-01
Organisation involved
Walmart
Product, system or model
Missed Scan Detection; VisualAI
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This incident was imported from AIAAIC and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.

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