Sainsbury's has paused the use of AI face scanning in one of its stores after a customer was wrongly identified as a shoplifter and ejected from the shop. The supermarket chain says the incident was caused by human error, not its Facewatch technology.
Customer's ordeal
Matt Arnold, 46, a comedy promoter, was buying supplies in the store in East Dulwich, south-east London, for a standup event at Dulwich Hamlet football club. After scanning his items and a Nectar card, he was approached by two managers who told him he could not be served owing to an earlier incident. He was then asked to leave and escorted from the store.
“I was embarrassed, mortified even, and felt quite humiliated and powerless,” Arnold said. As he left, he saw an overhead CCTV monitor alert with a red circle surrounding his face. He asked staff to keep his shopping so a friend could collect it for the comedy night.
Company response
Sainsbury's head office apologised to Arnold the next day and paused the AI-assisted Facewatch technology in the store while an investigation takes place. Arnold says the technology should be paused in all stores, citing concerns about false accusations and the impact on vulnerable people.
A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: “We have contacted Mr Arnold to apologise for his experience at our Dulwich superstore. The incident was caused by human error, not the facial recognition technology. Customers can be reassured that the Facewatch system has a 99.98% accuracy rate, and every match is reviewed by a trained manager.”
Wider concerns
A Facewatch spokesperson said their technology was not at fault, adding: “A correct alert was sent to the retailer, but was subsequently subject to human error in the way it was handled in store.” The company said suspending a store was a precautionary measure while staff underwent additional training.
The incident follows a similar case last September when another shopper was wrongly identified in a branch in Elephant and Castle. Sainsbury's said alerts remain visible on staff devices for up to an hour and it logs all misidentifications.
