Not So Cutting-Edge AI Weapon Scanner At Fault For School Stabbing?

Evolv Facing Fresh Scrutiny For Faulty AI Scanners Sold To US Schools

Evolv, a security system firm is facing a fresh probe following a malfunction in their system that resulted in a school stabbing incident. Evolv provides an AI weapon scanner that aims to replace traditional metal detectors.

On Halloween 2022, October 31st, a student by the name of Ehni Ler Htoo was attacked by a fellow student at Proctor High School in Utica. Ehni was attacked from behind and brutally stabbed severally with a 9-inch (22.8 cm) knife.

After the incident, the question that lingered in the minds of all was how a student could sneak a knife that big into the school.

As the Utica Schools’ superintendent Brian Nolan said, “When we viewed the horrific video, we all asked the same question. How did the student get the knife into the school?”

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After the accident, it was discovered that the New York district had earlier spent close to $4 million on an AI-based weapon scanner from Evolv. It did not take long for Evolv’s technology to become the scapegoat and an investigation was launched immediately.

The investigation led to a discovery that the Evolv Weapon Detection System… was not designed to detect knives. The system was immediately removed from the school and replaced with the ‘traditional’ metal detectors.

However, there are other 12 schools in the district as well as a hundred all over the USA that are still using the system. As Nolan put it, “The district cannot afford to get rid of Evolv’s system in its remaining schools.”

As the BBC reports, there have been up to three knives that have been discovered in the possession of students who were previously scanned.

How the system works is, if there is anything unusual, the system sends an alert when someone passes past it.

It snaps a picture and marks the location of the suspicious object with a red box. If a weapon is present or not, an officer can search.

Anil Chitkara, the co-founder of Evolv said, “[The] AI algorithm is trained on thousands and thousands of different items, different weapons, different guns and also, different personal items, phones, keys, and other things.”

In support of claims that Evolv is at fault, the BBC highlights the words of Conor Healy of IPVM, a firm that analyses security equipment.

Conor claims that Evolv has exaggerated how effective their system is despite it being used in critical sectors such as schools.

“There’s an epidemic of schools buying new technology based on audacious marketing claims, then finding out it has hidden flaws, often millions of dollars later.

Evolv is one of the worst offenders. School officials are not technical experts on weapons detection, and companies like Evolv profit from their ignorance.”