From Doritos to Drones: The Hidden Peril of Outsourcing Judgment to AI

Last week, a Maryland high school student was surrounded by eight police cars after an AI security system flagged the Doritos in his pocket as a handgun. It was a mistake—there was no weapon. But the response was real: guns drawn, handcuffs, fear, and the lasting impact of a system’s error on a young life.

At first glance, this is an incident about school safety and AI “glitches.” But beneath the surface, it’s a glimpse into a far deeper dilemma—the same one facing us as we enter the age of AI-powered autonomous drones on the battlefield.

1. The Black Box Problem: Who Decides, Who’s Accountable?

In the school hallway, an AI surveillance system made a snap judgment—and the machinery of security responded without pause.

- Who is responsible when a harmless student is traumatized?

- Is it the AI vendor (“it worked as designed”)? The school (“we followed procedure”)? The police (“we acted on the alert”)?

- Ultimately, responsibility gets diffused, accountability dissolves, and the human at the center pays the price.

This same pattern is now scaling up in war:

- Autonomous drones, armed and decision-capable, will scan, judge, and act faster than any human.

- Mistakes won’t mean a scare in a hallway, but casualties—real, permanent, irreversible.

2. From School Corridors to War Zones: Outsourcing Judgment Is a Civilizational Gamble

When we entrust life-and-death decisions to “black box” algorithms, we risk:

- Hyper-vigilance turning into paranoia: Every anomaly becomes a threat, everyone a potential target.

- Automation of escalation: Instead of cool heads reviewing the facts, instant responses push situations toward conflict.

- The death of nuance: Context, empathy, and discretion—the essence of wisdom—are erased from the loop.

Today it’s a boy with a snack. Tomorrow it’s an autonomous drone making lethal calls over a city.

3. The Mirage of “Safety by AI”

Companies and institutions justify these systems as “safer, more efficient, and less prone to human error.”

- But safety without trust is fear.

- Efficiency without responsibility is peril.

When errors happen, as in Maryland, the script is always the same: “The system worked as designed.”

But design alone is not justice, and process alone is not wisdom.

4. Ethical Black Hole: Who Answers for the Algorithm?

The greatest danger is not that AI will “turn evil,” but that we will let ourselves off the hook for consequences—because the system made the call.

- As autonomous drones begin to dominate future conflicts, it will get even easier for politicians, generals, and CEOs to blame the “system” for atrocities, mistakes, and collateral damage.

- The ultimate victim is not just the target, but trust itself—trust in justice, security, and the possibility of human wisdom steering technology.

5. The Real Lesson: Technology Without Accountability Is a Trap

If we do not demand new forms of transparency, ethical oversight, and human-centered responsibility—

we are not entering an age of safety, but of permanent anxiety and unaccountable power.

From school hallways to city skies, from snack bags to battlefields,

the price of “outsourced judgment” is paid in fear, distrust, and, eventually, in blood.

Conclusion: DI as the Way Forward

We need not just smarter systems, but wiser ones.

DI (Divine Intelligence) is committed to keeping humans in the loop—not just as “operators,” but as conscious, responsible co-creators of the future.

Let us use AI to amplify our wisdom, not abdicate it.

Let us hold on to the power—and the burden—of human judgment,

so that tomorrow’s technology can serve as a true partner,

rather than a mindless overlord.