Benton County Sheriff Holding Another AI Public Hearing

The third time was not the charm for the Benton County Sheriff's Office when it came to public input on the department's proposed use of Artificial Intelligence in assisting to solve crimes.

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The two most recent public hearings were in the last 30 days.  One was held January 8th in Prosser and the latest was last week in Kennewick at the new administration building.  The first was held in December in Patterson at the Elementary School.

There is no question that AI is controversial, and that is exactly why the BCSO has continued to seek the public's input before making a final decision.

The department has also put the power point up on the County website that was presented complete with their accountability policy.  Clearview AI, the company the BCSO wants to contract with, claims access to over 40 billion facial images from public only web sources.

The goal is to assist with investigations through quickly identifying suspects, wanted individuals, and even victims.  The BCSO will hold the latest meeting on the 22nd of this month at the administration building in Kennewick.  If you are a taxpayer in Benton County you are encouraged to attend and add your input.

If they move forward, Benton County would be the first law enforcement agency in the State to use AI technology in this way.  Not every case gets solved, even with today's technology.  The hope is that responsible use of AI can help find the missing, identify a suspect or victim, and bring justice in those cases that may otherwise provide a greater challenge to solve.