Kansas schools are looking to add artificial gun detection technology to buildings before the next school year as a way to detect weapons on school property before harm can come to children.
There are already 30 states using the technology that Kansas lawmakers are considering.
The state’s education budget this year includes a $5 million grant that schools can apply for to bring this technology to their campuses.
To be deployed, AI systems must be patented, “designated as qualified counterterrorism technology,” comply with various industry standards, and be able to detect “three broad classifications of firearms with a minimum of 300 subclassifications,” among others. other things.
ZeroEyes analyst Mario Hernández demonstrates the use of artificial intelligence with surveillance cameras to identify visible weapons in the company’s operations center
The company, founded by military veterans, produces artificial intelligence technology aimed at thwarting school shootings before the trigger is pulled.
Currently, there is only one company that meets the extensive list of standards: ZeroEyes, a company founded by military veterinarians that began in the wake of the Parkland shooting in Florida several years ago.
State Rep. Kristey Williams, who chairs the K-12 education budget committee, said that for the sake of continued school safety, administrations must have “something or someone 24/7, “surveillance, monitoring and detecting.” AI does that.’
‘We want to make sure that when our children go to school there are eyes on them to protect them. That’s our number one priority,” she stated.
Last week, Missouri became the latest state to pass legislation targeting ZeroEyes. The state will offer $2.5 million in matching grants for schools to purchase firearms detection software, designed specifically as “counterterrorism technology.”
The company uses AI with surveillance cameras to identify visible weapons and then sends an alert to a 24/7 operations center staffed by former law enforcement officers and military veterans.
If a threat is deemed legitimate, an alert is immediately sent to school officials and local authorities.
The goal, according to ZeroEyes co-founder and chief revenue officer Sam Alaimo, is to “get that gun before the trigger is pulled or before it gets to the door.”
Although there are many supporters of the technology, some across the country are very skeptical of the legislative tactics being implemented to bring AI to schools.
The very, very specific bill on the Kansas Governor’s desk has a requirement that the company must have its product in at least 30 states, which Jason Stoddard, director of school safety for Charles County Public Schools, said. in Maryland, called ‘Probably the most atrocious thing I’ve ever read.’
Kansas is the latest state to pass legislation that will lead to the implementation of ZeroEyes technology in some of its schools.
The patented counterterrorism technology has already been deployed in schools in 30 US states.
Stoddard is president of the newly created National Council of School Safety Directors, which was formed to set standards for school safety officials and address increasingly large vendors. present particular products to legislators.
When states allocate millions of dollars for certain products, it often leaves less money for other important school safety efforts, such as electronic locks, shatter-resistant windows, communication systems and security personnel, he said.
“AI weapon detection is absolutely wonderful,” Stoddard said. “But it’s probably not the priority that 95 percent of America’s schools need right now.”
In Florida, legislation to place ZeroEyes technology in just two counties generated a total bill of $920,000.
In February, ZeroEyes’ chief strategy officer gave a presentation on the technology to the House K-12 Education Budget Committee.
The demonstration included the technology’s AI weapons detection capability, as well as multiple actual surveillance photographs taken by the weapons technology in schools, parking lots and transportation hubs.
Currently, the technology remains expensive to purchase and implement, but dozens of states have been establishing grant funds that schools can apply for to access the technology.
After the presentation, Kansas state Rep. Adam Thomas, a Republican, initially proposed specifically naming ZeroEyes in the funding legislation. The final version removed the company name but kept the criteria that essentially limits it to ZeroEyes.
Kristey Williams, also a Republican, defended the specific selection of ZeroEyes, arguing that because of the urgency of the issue of student safety, the state did not have the time necessary to execute a standard bidding process.
In April he said he “didn’t feel there was any other alternative.”
The current $5 million in grants won’t be enough – probably not even close – to cover all of Kansas’ schools, but the amount will increase once people see how well the security technology works.
