![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/questions-raised-about-ai-weapons-scanning-company/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/127472204_screenshot2022-10-31at22.37.54.png&description=Some of the world's biggest venues, including Manchester Arena, are using weapons scanners "incapable" of detecting some large knives.Evolv, a company that sells artificial-intelligence (AI) scanners, claims they can detect all weapons. But documents shared with BBC News by research firm IPVM suggest they may fail to detect certain types of knives, as well as some bombs and components.Evolv told BBC News it had told venues of all "capabilities and limitations".Marion Oswald, of the government's Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, told BBC News: "There needs to be more public information and more independent evaluation of these systems before they are rolled out in the UK. "At the end of the day, they are potentially replacing methods of metal detection and physical searches that have been tried and tested." AI and machine learning enable the scanners to create unique "signatures" of weapons that differentiate them from items such as computers or keys, Evolv says, reducing manual checks and preventing long queues."Metallic composition, shape, fragmentation - we have tens of thousands of these signatures, for all the weapons that are out there," chief executive Peter George said last year, "all the guns, all the bombs and all the large tactical knives."For several years, independent security experts have expressed doubts about some of Evolv's claims.The company has previously refused to let IPVM test its technology, Evolv Express.But last year, it gave permission to the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4). Image caption, Evolv Express scans people for weaponsNCS4's public report, published earlier this year, gave Evolv a score of 2.84 out of three - many types of guns were detected 100% of the time. But it also produced a private report, obtained via a Freedom of Information request by IPVM and shared with BBC News along with emails between Evolv and NCS4.And it gave Evolv's ability to detect large knives a score of just 1.3 out of 3.In){kind=link}
Some of the world’s biggest venues, including Manchester Arena, are using weapons scanners “incapable” of detecting some large knives.
Evolv, a company that sells artificial-intelligence (AI) scanners, claims they can detect all weapons.
But documents shared with BBC News by research firm IPVM suggest they may fail to detect certain types of knives, as well as some bombs and components.
Evolv told BBC News it had told venues of all “capabilities and limitations”.
Marion Oswald, of the government’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, told BBC News: “There needs to be more public information and more independent evaluation of these systems before they are rolled out in the UK.