![\"AI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/dmv-visual-difference-ai.jpg\")
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\t\t\tIllustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins \/ Futurism. Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
When it comes to inclusion, artificial intelligence doesn\u2019t have the best track record. As vast algorithms trained on troves of data scraped from the internet, AI models are inherently predisposed<\/a> to reproducing human social biases.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise, then, that AI has a real knack for discrimination, often exacerbating prejudice on the basis of race<\/a>, gender<\/a>, and sexuality<\/a>. And as one woman discovered during a demeaning trip to the DMV, AI systems are also quite capable of discriminating against those with disabilities.<\/p>\n In a story first reported by Wired<\/a>, Connecticut native Autumn Gardiner\u2019s task seemed easy, mundane \u2014 she had recently gotten married, and was at the DMV to update her license. To do so, officials needed to take a new photo, a simple process which quickly turned into a nightmare thanks to the state government\u2019s AI-powered ID verification program.<\/p>\n Gardiner, who lives with Freeman-Sheldon syndrome \u2014 a rare genetic disorder affecting muscles around the face, particularly the mouth \u2014 says that one by one, her photos were all rejected by the DMV\u2019s ID software. It became a spectacle, she told Wired. \u201cEveryone\u2019s watching,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re taking more photos.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was humiliating and weird,\u201d she continued. \u201cHere\u2019s this machine telling me that I don\u2019t have a human face.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman-Sheldon causes what\u2019s referred to as a visible difference. While there is no authoritative list defining what is an isn\u2019t a visible difference, the advocacy group Changing Faces describes it as \u201ca scar, mark, or condition that makes you look different.\u201d This can include anyone with birthmarks, burns, cancer, craniofacial conditions, hair loss, skin conditions like vitiligo, or inherited conditions like neurofibromatosis.<\/p>\n Around half a dozen people with visible differences spoke to Wired to chronicle the ways AI software is increasingly complicating their lives. The frustrations are endless, ranging from social media selfie filters to facial verification for banking apps.<\/p>\n \u201cIn many countries, facial recognition is increasingly a part of everyday life, but this technology is failing our community,\u201d Nikki Lilly, a representative of the group Face Equality International testified<\/a> in front of the United Nations earlier this year.<\/p>\n As more and more part of life become locked away<\/a> behind these systems, it\u2019s a serious question: who benefits from it, and whose life is made more challenging?<\/p>\n