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Sainsbury’s pauses AI face scanning after customer wrongly ejected
The pause follows an incident in which a customer was flagged after scanning items and a Nectar card, and managers removed him based on an earlier case tied to the store’s Facewatch alerts.
Sainsbury’s has paused the use of its AI-assisted Facewatch face scanning in one store after a customer was wrongly identified as a shoplifter and ejected, the Guardian Business reports. The retailer said it believes the mistake was due to human error, rather than the Facewatch technology itself, and it apologized to the customer the next day.
The customer, Matt Arnold, said he was shopping at Sainsbury’s East Dulwich superstore in south-east London while buying supplies for a standup event at Dulwich Hamlet football club. After scanning his items and a Nectar card, two managers approached him and told him he could not be served because of an earlier incident.
Arnold said he was asked to leave and the staff attempted to escort him out, while he said he stood his ground so he could exit himself. As he left, he noticed an overhead CCTV monitor with a red circle around his face, and he asked staff to keep his shopping in the trolley so a colleague could return about five minutes later to pay and pick up the supplies.
Sainsbury’s said the Facewatch pause will last while an investigation takes place. Arnold argued the technology should be paused across all stores, saying false accusations could affect vulnerable people, including those with mental health issues, and could have a confidence-destroying effect on younger customers or those less able to challenge staff actions.