Image by Michael Förtsch, from Unsplash

New Orleans Police Secretly Used Facial Recognition to Monitor Streets For Two Years

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

For two years, New Orleans police secretly used live facial recognition cameras to track suspects in real time, in what appears to be the first program of its kind in a major U.S. city.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Program violated 2022 city ordinance limiting facial recognition use.
• At least 34 arrests involved, including for nonviolent crimes.
• Police failed to report use of facial recognition to city council.

An investigation by The Washington Post revealed that the surveillance system, run with the help of a private nonprofit called Project NOLA, performed public street scans and sent mobile alerts to officers about potential matches.

The system operated without public knowledge and violated the 2022 city ordinance which restricts facial recognition to violent crime investigations, and does not include general surveillance.

“This is the facial recognition technology nightmare scenario that we have been worried about,” said Nathan Freed Wessler from the ACLU, as reported by The Post. “This is the government giving itself the power to track anyone — for that matter, everyone — as we go about our lives walking around in public,” he added.

The Post reports that since early 2023, the program led to the arrest of at least 34 individuals including people charged with nonviolent offenses. Officers often didn’t mention the use of facial recognition in reports, and none of the cases appeared in the department’s required reports to city council.

Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick halted the program in April after a captain raised legal concerns. “We’re going to do what the ordinance says […] and if we find that we’re outside of those things, we’re going to stop it, correct it and get within the boundaries of the ordinance,” she said, as reported by The Post.

The city is now reviewing how the technology was used and discussing updates to the ordinance. Kirkpatrick supports the legal implementation of facial recognition technology when it operates transparently.

“Can you have the technology without violating and surveilling?” she asked, reports The Post. “Yes, you can. And that’s what we’re advocating for.”

There are no federal rules regulating facial recognition use by local police. But critics warn the tech can lead to wrongful arrests and civil rights violations, especially when used in secret.

This failure to disclose facial recognition use during arrests creates major problems regarding fairness and transparency across the United States.

An earlier investigation revealed more than 1,000 criminal cases across 15 states where police did not reveal that facial recognition technology was used.

Police departments typically avoided revealing the use of software by attributing evidence collection to other investigative methods or eyewitness testimony. The lack of transparency prevents defendants from contesting potentially incorrect evidence because facial recognition systems have proven to be discriminatory against people of color, women, and older adults.

A similar case in Detroit drew national attention after Robert Williams was wrongfully arrested in 2020 due to faulty facial recognition. His lawsuit led to new police rules requiring independent evidence beyond algorithmic matches. The reforms aim to prevent wrongful arrests and address racial bias in AI systems.

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

OpenAI To Acquire Former Apple Designer’s Company For $6.5 Billion

• Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, announced on Wednesday the acquisition of the company io for $6.5 billion. The startup, co-founded over a year ago by former Apple designer Jony Ive, was created to develop new AI devices. The all-stock deal represents OpenAI’s largest investment to date.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Sam Altman announced the purchase of the design company IO for $6.5 billion on Wednesday.
• The new deal represents OpenAI’s biggest acquisition.
• Altman says they have already developed a prototype of a new AI device and described it as “the coolest piece of technology.”

Last year, OpenAI announced it began collaborating with Ive —known for his iconic iPhone design and vision for future technologies—and his company LoveFrom on a secret project related to generative AI devices. Ive also co-founded io, a separate AI-focused venture, alongside designers Evans Hankey, Scott Cannon, and Tang Tan, which has now been acquired by OpenAI.

OpenAI announced the acquisition with a personal touch: a cinematic video featuring a conversation between Ive and Altman in San Francisco, and a poem-like joint statement accompanied by a photo of the two as friends, highlighting the close relationship they have built over the past few years. Ive will remain the design leader of the company.

“I think we have the opportunity to kind of completely reimagine what it means to use a computer,” says Altman’s voice at the beginning of the video.

“The products that we’re using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology. They’re decades old, yeah, and so it’s just common sense to at least think surely there’s something beyond these legacy products we have,” adds Ive.

Sam & Jony introduce io pic.twitter.com/ej5K59kJq3 — OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 21, 2025

Ive’s mission will focus on developing devices that integrate ChatGPT, taking into account the current capabilities of AI systems—including reasoning, processing different types of information, and “seeing” through device cameras—as well as the future potential of the technology.

“The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower, and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more closely with the research, engineering, and product teams in San Francisco,” states the document signed “Sam & Jony.”

“The io team, focused on developing products that inspire, empower and enable, will now merge with OpenAI to work more intimately with the research, engineering and product teams in San Francisco,” states the document signed “Sam & Jony.”

“As io merges with OpenAI, Jony and LoveFrom will assume deep design and creative responsibilities across OpenAI and io. We could not possibly be more excited.”

According to Reuters , the companies didn’t disclose the full financial details, only the $6.5 billion all-stock deal, as revealed by a source familiar with the matter.

The leaders didn’t share specifics of the AI devices they are developing either, but Altam said in the video they already have a prototype and described it as “the coolest piece of technology the world will have ever seen.”