Artificial intelligence technology reviews security camera footage from Loudoun County Schools to monitor weapons and battles. This is a step that the Northern Virginia district said will provide more coverage and safety.
Artificial intelligence technology reviews security camera footage from Loudoun County Schools to monitor weapons and battles. This is a step that the Northern Virginia district said will provide more coverage and safety.
The department will use Volt AI software, according to district spokesman Dan Adams. He piloted the software in high school and is currently planning to use it in elementary and junior high schools.
Adams said the technology ensures that school staff are always looking at what is happening across the school building, even if they can't see the footage in real time.
The Washington Post first reported the school district's plans.
“Requesting people to have their eyes at every moment of every day requires a lot of things,” Adams told WTOP. “This seemed like a great way to leverage new and emerging AI technologies to give them a faster response.
The Bethesda-based company's software acts as an alert system. Adams said it can scan students gathering in a particular area, fight, attack, and perhaps pick up weapons.
If it is identified that appears to be of concern, it warns them “to ensure that they can respond appropriately to whatever the incident is, whatever, 'they can then turn to their eyes',” Adams said.
This technology monitors cameras in common areas such as corridors, building entrances and exits. Adams said there are no cameras in private areas such as bathrooms.
The company's software will not replace “the human logical decision-making process,” Adams said, adding that he will ultimately become a person who “determines what the situation is and how to respond.”
For the first five years, the district will use an annual contract with the company. Adams said the first year would cost around $1.1 million.
In a statement, Volt AI co-founder Dmitry Sokolowski said the decision to use technology in schools would “enhance the pattern of seeing coasts from coast to coast.”
In a news release, the company discussed ways to work with Maryland Gov. Wesmoore's office to improve school safety.
A Moore spokesman said in a statement that the governor is excited about the partnership between Google and the University of Maryland system, and that the governor “is strongly support efforts to expand AI training opportunities for Maryland students.”
The new system is part of a series of changes that Loudon School is making to address safety. Anyone who wants to bring their bags to a varsity football game this fall should use a clear football game, according to Adams, a policy implemented at many professional sports venues.
They are also planning to pilot metal detectors at several sporting events next year, he said.
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