Could artificial intelligence help find and reunite missing persons with their loved ones? A Florida woman thinks so and is working to bring new attention to cases in Cleveland and across the country.
“Hi, my name is Keshaun Williams. I'm 15 years old,” states a video posted on Facebook under the Justice Messenger account. “I was living in Cleveland, Ohio with my family at the time of my disappearance,” the video states. “It was June 17, 2023."
At first glance, someone may think the video is Williams. But it was produced with AI video and audio software using Williams’ image and likeness.
Cleveland Police and other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, have been searching for Williams since June 2023. Investigators said he went to a party and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
A reward of $22,500 is being offered for information that leads to the whereabouts of Williams.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call Cleveland Police at 216-623-5400. You can also contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-866-4-WANTED. Tips can be anonymous.
Brynn Bowser created the AI video featuring Williams' case and has produced many others.
"It's a whole new way of sharing a missing child story," Bowser said.
Bowser spoke to News 5 Anchor Damon Maloney via Zoom from her Florida home.
“What is your greatest hope?” Maloney asked.
“To find a child,” Bowser said.
She said traditionally, a missing person flyer may go out into the community, or a photograph with a synopsis will be posted online. But Bowser argues the AI videos she’s creating are a new age way of sharing critical information that’s more captivating and efficient.
She said the idea came about after watching the movie Sound of Freedom, which tackles the topic of child sex trafficking and studying the power of artificial intelligence and algorithms.
“They (online users) watch it. They’re contributing to the algorithm. It’s gonna push it again- even more to somebody else,” Bowser said.
She said feedback about what she’s doing has been good.
“It’s been amazing actually,” Bowser said. “A lot of people- they did not expect it.”
Bowser said her full-time job is working for a financial healthcare resources company, and she makes the AI videos on her own time.
“I taught myself how to use different software,” Bowser said.
She said she collects photos and information related to missing persons from police reports, news articles and sometimes directly from families searching for their loved ones.
She said learning the various programs to create the AI videos wasn’t hard, but admitted they can be difficult to watch.
“You don’t ever hear a child explaining how they went missing,” Bowser said. “It’s very hard to like tell… but it’s gonna catch someone’s eye actually”.
Bowser mainly produces AI videos highlighting cases involving children. Her work also features cold cases.
She said Williams’ case has stuck in her mind.
“His story just shocked me, because how does he just go missing after going to a party… like it just blows my mind,” Bowser said.
Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy has worked with Williams’ family as they search for answers.
News 5 showed Majoy the AI video featuring Williams’ case.
“Well, first of all, I’ll give you props because you brought it to my attention,” Majoy said. “My first reaction was, well, that looks like him, and he’s talking. But here it was, an artificial intelligence video, if you will."
Majoy said it’s the first time he’s seen AI used this way.
"I think it’s very creative,” Majoy said.
He has a unique perspective, having worked in law enforcement for decades. Majoy chairs the Northeast Ohio Amber Alert Committee. He’s also the board of directors president for Cleveland Missing, a nonprofit that provides physical and emotional resources to families searching for a loved one.
“One of the hardest things about these cases is that when you look into the eyes of the loved one because there’s an emptiness there,” Majoy said. “There is a void in their life.”
“Do you see this type of technology maybe being used more widely in the future (to help find missing persons) ?” Maloney asked.
"I see it having much potential," Majoy said.
He said it presents an opportunity to share case details with more people and potentially increase the number of good tips to help law enforcement.
“Because the public outnumbers us exponentially,” Majoy said. “So, they’re our biggest asset by far.”
However, Majoy said that any effort has to be mindful not to impede an investigation or spread misinformation. Majoy noted that can cause a grieving family more pain.
In terms of Justice Messenger, Majoy said, “If they’re going to do this… to make sure that they get the blessing from the family because of what it may cause for them in terms of trauma. Not that they necessarily need that, but I think that that would be the right thing to do."
Bowser said if a family came to her and expressed concerns with the content and wanted it removed, she would oblige.
The AI videos do raise moral, ethical, and legal questions. For instance, if the copyright owner of an image used in the work objects to its use.
"They could say, ‘I'm happy to have this displayed publicly, but I'm not okay with somebody making another work out of it.’ We call that derivative work,” said Betsy Rosenblatt, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
Rosenblatt added that not all copyright objections have legal standing, and measures like a cease and desist avoid some lawsuits.
"And when things are done online, there's another procedure known as a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that will just allow or require material to be removed without any sort of lawsuit at all,” Rosenblatt said.
Bowser said she would like Justice Messenger to become her full-time job one day.
"I want to be the messenger for justice for these children,” she said.
Bowser is also on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok under the account name themissingandexploited.
Maloney did speak to the group Cleveland Missing about this story and the use of AI as it relates to Williams’ case. The nonprofit has been a liaison between Williams’ family and local media.
