American schools use AI to detect firearms as businesses lobby legislators for public funding

Kansas might give $5 million to schools for cameras that use artificial intelligence to find people with guns. The governor has to agree to spend the money, and the schools have to meet certain requirements.

The AI software needs to be patented and meet certain security standards. It should also be used in at least 30 states and be able to detect different types of guns with a lot of detail.

Only one company meets all the requirements: the company that told Kansas lawmakers about them. That company, ZeroEyes, is a fast-growing business started by military veterans after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.

The law that is waiting for the Kansas Governor to decide on. Laura Kelly points out two things. Following many well-known shootings, making schools safer has become a very expensive business worth billions of dollars. In some state capitols, certain companies are convincing lawmakers to make their own business ideas into state laws.

ZeroEyes is the only company allowed to do weapons detection for state programs in Michigan and Utah, and for new laws in Florida and Iowa, and proposed laws in Colorado, Louisiana and Wisconsin.

Last Friday, Missouri passed a law to help schools buy ZeroEyes, a type of software that detects firearms. They are offering $2.5 million in grants to support this.

“We don’t give money to lawmakers to include us in their laws,” explained Sam Alaimo, who is the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of ZeroEyes. “If they are doing that, it means I believe they are doing their homework and making sure they are choosing a good technology. ”

ZeroEyes uses smart technology with security cameras to find guns that can be seen, and then sends a warning to a team of former police and military members who are always ready to respond. If ZeroEyes staff confirm it’s a real danger, they will send a warning to the school and local police.

Alaimo said the aim is to “take the gun before it’s fired or before it reaches the door. ”

Not many people doubt the technology. But some people wonder about the way laws are made.

The Kansas bill is very strict and requires a company to sell its product in at least 30 states. Jason Stoddard, who works on school safety and security in Maryland, said it’s the worst thing he’s ever seen in a law.

Stoddard is leading a group called the National Council of School Safety Directors. They want to make rules for school safety officials and stop companies from trying to sell their products to lawmakers.

When states spend a lot of money on certain things for schools, there is not enough money for other important safety things like locks on doors, strong windows, communication systems, and security staff.

Stoddard said that the weapons detection driven by artificial intelligence is really great. “But it’s likely not the main thing that 95 percent of schools in the United States need at the moment. ”

Some states are creating programs to give money to help pay for expensive technology. In Florida, the cost of putting ZeroEyes technology in schools in two counties was about $929,000.

Other companies also use surveillance systems that use artificial intelligence to find guns, not just ZeroEyes. One company, Omnilert, changed its focus from emergency alerts to detecting guns a few years ago. They have monitoring centers that work all the time to quickly check for guns using AI and notify local officials if they find any.

Omnilert does not have a patent for its technology yet. The US Department of Homeland Security has not declared it as a technology that helps to stop terrorism under a law from 2002 that protects companies from being sued. It has been requested for both.

Omnilert is used in many schools, but its products are not available in 30 states, according to Mark Franken, who is the vice president of marketing for Omnilert. However, he mentioned that this should not prevent his company from receiving state grants.

Franken has asked the Kansas governor to remove specific criteria from a law, because he thinks it makes it hard for businesses to compete.

In Iowa, a law was changed to give companies more time to get permission from the government to use their weapons detection software in schools. They now have until July 1, 2025. Democratic state Representative Ross Wilburn said that the designation was meant to encourage companies to create new technology.

“It was not made to help or favor any specific company,” Wilburn said during the House discussion.

In February, the chief strategy officer of ZeroEyes talked about their technology to the House K-12 Education Budget Committee in Kansas. The event showed how their AI can detect guns and there were many real pictures of guns found at schools, parking lots and transit stations. The presentation also mentioned that police arrested around twelve people last year because of ZeroEyes alerts.

Kansas state Representative Adam Thomas, who is a member of the Republican party, first suggested adding ZeroEyes to the funding bill by name. The last version took out the name of the company but still kept the rules that only apply to ZeroEyes.

Kristey Williams, a Republican who is in charge of the House K-12 Budget Committee, strongly supported that rule. During a meeting with senators she said that student safety is important and the state can’t wait for a long bidding process. She also praised the company’s technology as special.

“We didn’t think there was any other choice,” Williams said last month.

The $5 million money given may not be enough for all schools, but Thomas thinks it could increase later if ZeroEyes technology works well.

“I hope it works like we saw and stops gun violence in schools,” Thomas said. “I want it to be in every school. “