Kyle Rittenhouse, who was taking the stand to answer questions regarding the sequence of events that led to his shooting and killing a Kenosha man, Wisconsin man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The jury had to see the video evidence in miniature because Rittenhouse's defense lawyer suggested that Apple might have "artificial intelligence" which manipulates footage by pinching-to-zoom. Judge Bruce Schroeder completely agreed with that idea.
Algorithms is the word he is looking for, but that's not important.
The defense argued that the iPads, made by Apple, contain artificial intelligence. This allows things to be viewed through logarithms and three-dimensions. It uses their logarithms or artificial intelligence to create the illusion of what is actually happening. This is not enhanced video. It is Apple's iPad programming creating the things it believes are there, and not necessarily what is there," they said.
Although it is unclear from the full video of proceedings (via The Washington Post), whether the judge actually prohibited prosecution from using an iOS phone or zooming in on the footage, the end result was the exact same: the jury ended up viewing the original zoomed-out clips on a Windows computer hooked up to the large TV in the courtroom. The images did not fill the entire TV screen.
Judge Schroeder stated that the prosecution, not the defense, had to prove that Apple does not use artificial intelligence to manipulate video footage. He demanded that the prosecution provide an expert witness to support their case and wouldn't allow them to adjourn until they found that expert before Rittenhouse was brought up for cross-examination. Judge Schroeder suggested that the prosecutors could find that expert during a 20-minute break. The judge suggested that prosecutors might be able to find someone to testify about this in a matter of minutes.
Digital image scaling is quite well-understood, despite the fact that digital images can be difficult to understand in terms of color.
Six criminal charges have been filed against Rittenhouse for the Kenosha shooting. Rittenhouse is accused of the murders of two people.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
