TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas could soon offer up to $5 million in grants to schools that equip surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people with guns. . But the governor must approve the spending, and schools must meet some very specific criteria.
The AI software is patented and “designated as a qualified counterterrorism technology” in accordance with certain security industry standards, is already in use in at least 30 states, and is “designated as a qualified counterterrorism technology” in compliance with certain security industry standards, and is “designated as a must be able to detect the appropriate firearm classification. Among other things, “at least 2,000 permutations.”
Currently, only one company meets all of these criteria. That's the same organization that promoted these standards to Kansas lawmakers who write the state budget. That company, ZeroEyes, is a fast-growing company founded by veterans after a fatal incident. Shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School In Florida.
law Pending Kansas Governor Laura Kelly highlights two things.rear Mass shooting incidents attracting attention, school security has become a multi-billion dollar industry. And in statehouses, some companies have been successful in persuading policymakers to write specific company solutions into state law.
Zero Eyes is also a state firearms detection program based on legislation enacted last year in Michigan and Utah, legislation passed earlier this year in Florida and Iowa, and proposed legislation in Colorado, Louisiana, and Wisconsin. It appears to be the only company with this qualification.
On Friday, Missouri became the latest state to pass legislation toward ZeroEyes, providing $2.5 million in matching grants to schools that purchase firearm detection software designated as “eligible counterterrorism technology.”
“We're not paying legislators to write us into legislation,” said Sam Alaimo, co-founder and chief revenue officer of ZeroEyes. But “the fact that they're doing that means they've done their homework and are making sure they're getting vetted technology.”
ZeroEyes uses artificial intelligence with surveillance cameras to identify visible guns and alert an operations center staffed 24 hours a day by former law enforcement officers and veterans. If a threat is identified as legitimate by ZeroEyes personnel, an alert will be sent to school officials and local authorities.
The goal is to “get the gun before the trigger is pulled or before the gun gets to the door,” Alaimo said.
Few people question this technology. But some have questioned the legislative tactics.
Kansas' very specific bill, especially the requirement that companies deploy their products in at least 30 states, is “probably the most egregious thing I've ever read” in the law, said Charles. School Safety Director Jason Stoddard said. County public schools in Maryland.
Stoddard chairs the newly formed National Council of School Safety Officers, which was created to set standards for school safety officers and combat increasingly fraudulent vendors. pitch a specific product to a legislator.
When states allocate millions of dollars to specific products, there is often less money available for other important school safety initiatives, such as electronic door locks, shatter-resistant windows, communication systems and security guards, the study said. he said.
“Artificial intelligence weapons detection is really impressive,” Stoddard said. “But that's probably not the priority that 95% of schools in the United States need right now.”
This technology can be expensive, so some states have established grant programs. In Florida, he just passed legislation to bring ZeroEyes technology to schools in two counties, at a total cost of about $929,000.
ZeroEyes isn't the only company using artificial intelligence-powered surveillance systems to detect guns. One of his competitors, Omnilert, pivoted from emergency alert systems to firearms detection a few years ago, using a 24-hour system to quickly confirm AI-detected guns and alert local authorities. We also provide a monitoring center.
However, Omnirat has not yet obtained a patent for the technology. It also has not yet been designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a counterterrorism technology under his 2002 federal law that provides liability protections for businesses. I have applied for both.
Mark Franken, Omnirat's vice president of marketing, said Omnirat has been installed in hundreds of schools, but its product has not reached 30 states. But he said that shouldn't exclude his company from qualifying for state aid.
Franken said he has contacted the Kansas governor's office in hopes of vetoing certain standards, which he said would “create a kind of anti-competitive environment.”
In Iowa, a law has been amended that requires schools to install firearm detection software, and companies that provide the technology have until July 1, 2025 to receive federal designation as anti-terrorism technology. Ta. But Democratic state Rep. Ross Wilburn said the designation was originally intended to incentivize companies to develop the technology.
Mr Wilburn said in the House of Commons debate: “It is not set up to provide or promote any kind of advantage to any particular company.”
In Kansas, ZeroEyes' chief strategy officer presented an overview of the company's technology before the House K-12 Education Appropriations Committee in February. This included his live demonstration of AI gun detection as well as numerous actual surveillance photos of guns found in schools, parking lots, and transit stations. The presentation also noted that authorities arrested about a dozen people last year as a direct result of ZeroEyes alerts.
Representative Adam Thomas (R-Kansas) originally proposed including Zero Eyes specifically in the funding bill. The final version removed the company name, but retained the essential ZeroEyes criteria.
House K-12 Budget Committee Chairwoman Christy Williams (R) vigorously defended the provision. She argued in bargaining sessions with senators that the state could not afford to delay the standard bidding process for student safety. She also touted the company's technology as unique.
“I don't think there was any other choice,” Williams said last month.
The $5 million budget won't cover all schools, but the amount could increase later if people realize how well the ZeroEyes technology works, Thomas said.
“We're hopeful that this will have exactly the same effect that we've seen in preventing gun violence in schools,” Thomas told the AP. It can be implemented,” he said.
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Reeve reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed from Des Moines, Iowa.