SUPERMARKET chain BritMart has temporarily suspended its facial-recognition system while staff receive additional training in identifying the person the computer has already identified for them.
The highly advanced software reportedly worked exactly as intended, successfully flagging the correct individual before a member of staff approached and removed somebody else.
Engineers are now investigating a previously overlooked weakness in the system known as “the bit involving humans.”
BritMart said all facial-recognition alerts are reviewed by trained colleagues before action is taken, a safeguard increasingly suspected of being where everything starts to go wrong.
Several upgrades are now being tested, including a large flashing arrow marked THIS ONE, followed by a second warning reading NO, NOT THE OTHER BLOKE.
A more advanced version will automatically sound an alarm whenever security staff begin confidently walking towards somebody bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the person displayed on screen.
“The technology is extremely accurate,” said a fictional BritMart spokesman.
“We’re now working to bring Darren up to a similar standard.”
Future versions may remove staff from the process entirely, with the system instead locking the security office door until the correct customer has left.
BritMart expects the technology to return once engineers establish why the artificial intelligence was the most competent person involved.
Source: The Guardian — Sainsbury’s store pauses AI scanning after false shoplifting accusation, 17 August 2026.
