The Federal Trade Commission has charged a company that produces AI-based weapons detection systems used by schools and other businesses with making misleading claims about the technology’s effectiveness.
According to the FTC complaint filed last month, the tech company Evolv Technologies exaggerated its security screening platform’s ability to detect weapons when compared to metal detectors. The complaint noted that much of the company’s customers are in the education sector, as schools all across the nation and state remain on high alert about threats of mass violence and school shootings.
FTC officials said in a news release that Evolv’s Express AI-powered security scanners have been used in “thousands of schools” and higher-ed institutions. The company’s Tennessee clients include the Clarksville-Montgomery School System and Belmont University, among others.
The commission claimed that the company “touted its use of AI, claiming its scanners are a high-tech alternative to traditional metal scanners,” and aggressively marketed the tool as a way to “address the problem of guns and other weapons in schools.”
“The FTC has been clear that claims about technology – including artificial intelligence – need to be backed up, and that is especially important when these claims involve the safety of children,” said Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. “If you make those claims without adequate support, you can expect to hear from the FTC.”
According to FTC...
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