MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — As artificial intelligence oversight grows worldwide, a Maryland incident is fueling a broader conversation about how AI can both harm and help public safety, as more powerful tools make it easier to create convincing false reports.
A Bethesda woman who used AI to fake a home invasion has been ordered to make a $1,000 donation to the Montgomery County Police Department in exchange for having her charges dropped, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
The woman used AI to stage an image of an intruder on her couch and sent it to her husband, who then called police. Eight units responded.
Joshua Ederheimer, an assistant professor at the UVA Center for Public Safety and Justice and a former MPD assistant chief, told 7News false calls and fabricated stories are not new, but AI is changing how they are carried out.
“When I was on the streets of DC, people would make false calls. They’d make up stories. They call 911, and there’d be a large response,” Ederheimer said. “So using AI to do the same thing, it’s not a new concept. It’s just a new tool in which people are doing bad things.”
Ederheimer also pointed to ways AI is being used to improve policing, including body camera technology being rolled out across the country that includes built-in AI tools to speed up report writing.
He said the time saved on transcribing interactions and creating reports can help maintain accountability while increasing efficiency in the field.
Ederheimer added that AI can also be used in predicting crime.
"AI can help predict where disorder and crime might occur. They may not be able to identify exactly when a robbery is going to occur, but it could predict where there’s more of a likelihood of disorder and crime happening. That’s very helpful with limited resources, where police commanders are looking at how to deploy their patrols, how to deploy their cameras," he said.