The University of Nueve Bareto had always prided itself on being at the bleeding edge of technology. Its motto, carved in stone above the main gate, read “Innovation is Power”.The university had created a buzz across the state for its latest innovation. According to reports in the local media, about eight of their smartest students had put their minds and efforts together to develop an AI-powered facial recognition app, which was sleek, efficient, and terrifyingly thorough.
On the day of the grand trial run, to which the university's Vice‑Chancellor had also been invited, the lab buzzed with anticipation. The mentor to the eight students, Professor Hugo, cleared his throat and announced, "Honourable Vice Chancellor Sir, ladies and gentlemen, today we unveil the future of justice. This app that our students have developed, is set to emerge as the most fool-proof facial recognition app on the planet; well at least for the moment."
"Why did you think it was worthwhile to develop a facial recognition app?", asked someone seated in the audience, "How do you think it can benefit society?"
"Well, the possibilities are endless", replied the Professor, "I can think of several uses. For instance, facial recognition is used as a security feature for mobile phones and other devices. Also, immigration and border control processes at airports can become paperless and less time-consuming. Imagine using facial recognition at workplaces for access control and recording employee attendance."
"These are pretty common used-cases", shouted someone else from another section in the audience, "What else can it be used for?"
The Professor stood speechless for a while, looking a little hesitant. But the awkwardness was broken by an excited student from the team that developed the app, "Well, as a pilot experiment, we got in touch with the local police station, who agreed to share images and other information from their criminal database. We are proud to let you know that we were able to help the police track down at least six absconding criminals within a span of two months by matching the information provided by the police with social media and online activity. Our advanced AI can be easily plugged in to integrate with and scan through all social media channels in mere minutes to match and generate accurate results."
A collective gasp began to rise in the audience, which was followed by a wave of murmurs.
One senior audience member, who had the aura of a retired bureaucrat, rose and asked in a loud voice, "You are making a huge claim here. Are you saying that your app is capable of scanning through the internet to identify and nab criminals? I hope you are saying this with responsibility."
Before the Professor could respond, the student smiled from ear to ear and declared emphatically, "Sir, we can show you a demo right now."
A collective roar arose from the audience. The Vice-Chancellor silently thanked his stars that he had agreed to be a part of this historical moment.
Professor Hugo gestured to the students, who scrambled to set up a projector-like device. The app’s interface appeared on an adjacent screen; clean, minimal, with a cheerful logo that looked far too innocent for what it was capable of doing. A ripple of excitement ran through the audience.
"Let’s begin with a simple scan", said one of the students, clicking a button. The camera panned across the room, locking onto faces. A few seconds later, the app chirped:
At first, the results were mundane: a janitor named Jose matched with a record for creating nuisance with loud music in the wee hours in 1994, an audience member named Pedro was flagged for a wrong parking incident from 2006. The Vice‑Chancellor chuckled politely, as though watching a harmless magic trick.
But then the app began to dig deeper.
A certain Hernandez was found to have committed petty theft in 1998. A lady named Gisele was a match with an illegal gambling ring from 1994. The man with the bureaucratic aura turned out to be involved in several mass brawls between 1985 and 1992.
The excited student waded out in front of the audience and announced, "Now for the cool part."
He punched a few buttons on his laptop, and at once the interface on the screen came alive.
As the room erupted in cacophony, a list of findings started filling out on screen.
- Diego Chavez: Minister of Transport: Driving under the influence of alcohol and banned substances, 1982.
- Lionel Simeone: Chief Advisor, Ministry of Finance: Conspiracy to Defraud, 1995.
- Freida Ferreira: Senior Advocate, Supreme Court: Arson, 1991.
- Noreno Modena: Prime Minister: Attempt to...
Before the list could be generated for public consumption, the Vice‑Chancellor rose from his seat red-faced, lunged forward, and slammed his hand on the laptop. "Enough!" he barked. "This project is…”
“Scandalous?” Professor Hugo stammered.
For reasons unknown, the project was soon declared a "technical failure", its servers were dismantled, and its code archived under "experimental misfire".
Officially, the university announced that the app had "failed to meet ethical standards”.
Unofficially, everyone knew it had met them too well.
This post is a part of the BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026
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