SAO PAULO, March 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - In the heart of Sao Paulo, a "prisonometer" keeps a live tally of people jailed due to Latin America's largest AI facial-recognition system, but its successes have been marred by mistaken arrests. In December, an 80-year-old retiree spent hours under arrest because Smart Sampa confused him with a rapist. At least 141 people were arrested due to outdated warrants, but the Sao Paulo government argues that those mistakes are the judiciary's responsibility, not theirs. In 2024, nearly one in five cellphone robberies in Brazil, including violent muggings, occurred in Sao Paulo. Most Smart Sampa arrests have occurred in outlying neighborhoods, with many of those detained migrants from poorer regions of Brazil's interior.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha March 17, 2026 03:08 UTC