The massive claims by Evolv Technology regarding its AI scanner capabilities caught up to them thanks to the help of the UK's British Broadcasting Company (BBC) that the US Federal Trade Commission picked up on. It was revealed that Evolv Technology made false claims regarding their technology's competence, with the BBC exposing them, and the federal agency claiming that they "deceived" the public.
Multiple controversies have already been faced by Evolv Technology concerning their AI scanners that could allegedly detect all kinds of weapons, but several use cases served as examples that proved them wrong.
Evolv Technology's AI Scanners Made False Claims Says FTC
The FTC recently shared that Evolv Technology has "deceived" users about their claims saying that their AI scanners are capable of detecting "all weapons" with the mere use of their cameras and machine learning. After several months of the regulatory agency's investigation, the case now concluded with a settlement order imposed against Evolv that would prevent the company from making "unsupported claims."
According to the FTC, Evolv may only make claims about its product's capabilities should there be sufficient backing from legitimate studies or survey results, with the company banned from making such statements.
That being said, selected K-12 school customers are now given the chance to cancel their contracts with Evolv Technology as part of the settlement order, and it does not matter if they are locked behind a "multi-year deal."
According to the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection director, Samuel Levine, "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."
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BBC Helped Expose Evolv Technology's AI Scanner
According to the BBC, its previous reports helped the US FTC take notice of Evolv Technology's claims after exposing certain details that dispel their AI scanners' capabilities that were applied to schools in New York and Utica. Evolv also shared before that the UK government had already tested and given its approval to their AI-based security technology, which the BBC said was false.
Evolv Technology's Security Controversies
Infusing AI with security measures and technologies has been explored by many companies, including startups, to help make the world a better place by using machine learning for detection and prevention. However, there was one prominent company from Massachusetts that made significant claims regarding its technology, and the FTC took notice of their wild assertions.
However, New York City still continued adopting the technology and enforcing it around its subways during a test earlier this year, with NYC Mayor, Eric Adams, known for integrating tech into the city. However, NYC's trust in Evolv's scanners faced significant backlash from the public, highlighting that its previous deployment at the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx saw 85 percent of the alarms to be false positives.
Despite Evolv Technology giving a bad reputation to AI's adoption of security measures, following other controversial technologies like Clearview AI, countries like South Korea are making headway in their AI-based programs for public safety. After years of claiming that Evolv scanners can detect all weapons, their claims caught up to them in the form of a settlement with the FTC, and the BBC helped significantly in exposing them.
