A coroner raised concerns about the use of AI software in the inquest of Noah Donohoe, a 14-year-old schoolboy who died in Belfast in 2020. The software, used by police to analyze CCTV footage, was only available on a trial basis that expired last month.
A coroner has expressed concern that he was not informed that the AI software used in the inquest of schoolboy Noah Donohoe was only accessible to police on a trial basis that ended last month. Mr Justice Rooney convened an unscheduled review hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast on Friday morning after the issue concerning the artificial intelligence technology surfaced.
Noah, 14, was found deceased in a storm drain in Belfast in June 2020 – six days after he vanished while cycling to meet friends. The coroner's court had previously been informed that AI was being utilized by the PSNI to analyze hours of CCTV footage in an attempt to determine if there were instances of the schoolboy leaving his home in the early hours of the days leading up to his disappearance. On Friday, the court learned that the concern regarding the expiration of the AI software trial period arose when efforts were made to schedule a date for counsel for the coroner to review the footage. Donal Lunny KC, representing the PSNI, informed Mr Justice Rooney that the legal parties involved in the case were unaware of the end-of-January expiration date. He stated that once the issue was identified by a solicitor within the Crown Solicitor's Office, she took steps to alert the PSNI about the need to 'expedite' the permanent purchase of the software. Mr Lunny said the purchase had been fast-tracked and expressed hope that the software would be operational again by February 17. 'I don't believe anyone was told the period ended at the end of January; it would have been helpful if that had been flagged up,' the barrister told the court. 'But we are where we are with it. It now requires the PSNI to purchase it, that obviously has a cost for public bodies like the PSNI. As you know, there are processes that have to be gone through. Happily, with the intervention of my instructing solicitor, and others, those have been expedited and authorities been obtained to purchase a number of licenses.' He added: 'I'm just sorry that we didn’t get back to the Coroners Service to tell you that that was happening before this review was required. We ought to have and we didn’t. But, as I say, the authorities are there, we’re expediting the purchase of them.' Mr Lunny continued: 'We anticipate they’ll be available, ready to use, by Monday February 17. 'We can’t say that with 100 per cent certainty, because we’re waiting for the software company to come back to the PSNI. We don’t anticipate any difficulties with it.' Noah's mother, Fiona Donohoe, hopes to find answers to some of the questions surrounding her son's death through the inquest process. The full inquest is expected to take place before the summer. Brenda Campbell KC, barrister for Ms Donohoe, stated that the family only became aware of the issue with the AI trial period when they received notification on Thursday of the unscheduled review hearing. She expressed gratitude to the coroner for 'keeping close eyes on what’s going on in the background.' The coroner explained to Ms Campbell that he had written to the police when he discovered the software was only intended for a trial period. 'I was more concerned by the fact that this would cause a delay in counsel for the coroner being able to see the CCTV footage,' he said. 'So that is the reason why we’re here today. 'What I’ve been told by Mr Lunny is that the Crown solicitors were working behind the scenes, they realised that there was an issue here, and they were working behind the scenes to make sure it wouldn’t be an issue. 'From what I’ve been told, they’ve succeeded in many ways. So, I’m happy. I’m glad we had the review, but that was the reason for it.' The next review hearing in the case is scheduled for February 26
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