FTC says AI company Evolv 'falsely hyped' its security scanners

Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are no strangers to embellishing their products’ capabilities — and when it comes to public safety, the consequences can be deadly. 

Evolv Technologies claimed its AI-powered security scanners would improve public safety by detecting weapons in a variety of places, including in schools. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found otherwise. 

Also: ‘Click-to-cancel’ violators will face consequences, as US agency vows to enforce FTC ruling

Last week, the FTC proposed a settlement order with Evolv Technologies over how the company oversold the ability of its AI-powered security system to detect weapons and “ignore harmless personal items” — especially in school settings. Evolv’s touch-free systems scan people as they enter a space without requiring a manual search of bags or pockets. 

In an X post, FTC chair Lina Khan said Evolv has “falsely hyped” its AI weapons detection systems to school districts that paid the company “millions” to use the technology in schools. She noted that the scanners set off alarms for harmless items such as water bottles and binders while failing to identify weapons. 

Since going public in 2021, Evolv’s scanners have been popping up at sporting events, theme parks, schools, airports, subway stations, and even film festivals as an alternative to traditional metal detectors and other forms of security checkpoints. The Massachusetts-based company has advertised its “advanced AI-powered security scanning systems” as a viable solution to address public safety concerns, including school shootings. 

Also: FTC report exposes massive data collection by social media brands – how to protect yourself

According to The Intercept, in June 2022, former Evolv chief executive Peter George was asked at an investor conference “if the company would have stopped the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed.” 

George answered, “When somebody goes through our system and they have a concealed weapon or an open carry weapon, we’re gonna find it, period.” 

Despite Georges’s declaration, dozens of school districts that spent millions on gun detection technology experienced instances of Evolvs’ systems not detecting weapons, according to the Intercept, resulting in legal and regulatory scrutiny. In 2023, five law firms announced investigations into Evolv technologies for possible violations of securities law, claiming that “Evolv misled investors over the capabilities of its weapons detectors.” 

Also: Why you should power off your phone once a week – according to the NSA

Moreover, Evolv’s shareholders filed a class-action suit against the company, arguing that the company’s marketing claims overstated the effectiveness of the technology. 

The issues don’t stop there. Despite this legal, regulatory, and internal turmoil, New York City Mayor Eric Adams launched a three-month pilot program that would deploy the AI scanners in NYC subways. The same scanners had been deployed previously in Jacobi Medical Center, where they reportedly triggered a huge number of false positives, according to NYC-based news outlet Hell Gate. 

It’s common for AI systems to get better over time, as models can become more accurate the more data they accumulate. For Evolv, that wasn’t the case. As the pilot program progressed, the AI scanners “did not get any more accurate — there was not a single month where the alarm to visitor ratio fell below 25 percent,” Hell Gate reported. 

Also: AI is making us smarter, says AI pioneer Terry Sejnowski

Additional reporting found that the scanners had “a false positive rate of 95 percent,” and that only 0.45 percent of alerts were triggered by people carrying weapons who weren’t law enforcement. 

What this means for school security 

On Wednesday, Evolv Technologies reached an agreement with the FTC to resolve the inquiry into its prior marketing claims. According to an FTC blog post, the proposed settlement order would prevent Evolv from “making unsupported claims about its products’ ability to detect weapons by using artificial intelligence.” It would also require Evolv to “notify certain K-12 school customers that they can opt to cancel contracts signed between April 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023,” which can be multi-year. 

Samuel Levine, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, states in the blog that “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.“ 

Also: I test AI tools for a living, and these are the only two worth paying for

Mike Ellenbogen, interim president and CEO of Evolv Technology, stated in the company’s press release that the “FTC inquiry was about past marketing language and not our system’s ability to add value to security operations.” The company also pointed out “that the agency didn’t challenge the fundamental effectiveness of the company’s technology or require any monetary relief.” 

The proposed settlements also prohibit Evolv from making any false claims or misrepresentations about:

• “The ability of its products to detect weapons, ignore harmless personal items, and ignore harmless personal items without requiring visitors to remove any such items from pockets or bags”
• “Its products’ accuracy in detecting weapons and false alarm rates, including in comparison to the use of traditional metal detectors”
• “The speed at which visitors can be screened compared to the use of metal detectors”
• “Labor costs, including comparisons to the use of metal detectors; testing, or the results of any testing; and any material aspect of its performance, including the use of algorithms, artificial intelligence, or other automated systems or tools.”

The FTC has noted in the past that AI products can overpromise themselves as solutions for systemic issues, which is a consequence of AI hype. This can be especially risky for public safety if more cities, institutions, and schools rely on tech like Evolv’s scanners as a fail-safe.