Security

An automated security-screening system failed to detect a weapon that went on to be used in an attack. Administrators at Proctor High School in Utica, New York, decommissioned an AI-powered weapon detector by Evolv Technologies after a student snuck a knife into the school, BBC reported.

French lawmakers said “oui” to broad uses of AI-powered surveillance. France’s National Assembly authorized authorities to test systems that detect unlawful, dangerous, or unusual behavior at next year’s Summer Olympics in Paris. The bill will become law unless the country’s top court blocks it.

A recent workshop highlighted the impact of poorly designed AI models in medicine, security, software engineering, and other disciplines.

A weaponized AI system intended to protect students has been grounded. Axon, which makes law-enforcement equipment such as tasers and body cameras, canceled a plan to sell remote-controlled drones capable of firing electroshock darts.

A Major League Baseball stadium will be using computer vision to detect weapons as fans enter.What’s new: A system called Hexwave will look for firearms, knives, and explosives carried by baseball fans who visit Camden Yards, home field of the Baltimore Orioles.

Face recognition algorithms have come under scrutiny for misidentifying individuals. A U.S. government agency tested over 1,000 of them to see which are the most reliable.

Microsoft is making GPT-3 available to selected customers through its Azure cloud service.

Amazon unveiled a robot that patrols users’ homes, scopes out strangers, and warns of perceived dangers.

After years of trailing other tech giants in AI, Apple has a new ambition: to become the industry’s leading purveyor of products powered by machine learning. In an interview with Ars Technica, the company’s AI chief argues that its pro-privacy.

A crime-fighting AI company altered evidence to please police, a new investigation claims — the latest in a rising chorus of criticism. ShotSpotter modified the system’s findings in some cases.

A U.S. government watchdog agency called for stronger face recognition protocols for federal agencies. An audit found that, while many employ face recognition, they may not know where it came from, how it’s being used, or the hazards involved.

Foiling attackers who try to lure email users into clicking on a malicious link is a cat-and-mouse game, as phishing tactics evolve to evade detection. But machine learning models designed to recognize phishing attempts can evolve, too, through automatic retraining and checks to maintain accuracy.

AI-powered surveillance is becoming a staple in U.S. banks. Several banks are using cameras equipped with computer vision to bolster security and boost employee productivity, according to Reuters.

The UK’s electronic surveillance agency published its plan to use AI. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) outlined its intention to use machine learning to combat security threats, human trafficking, and disinformation — and to do so ethically — in a new report.

With access to a trained model, an attacker can use a reconstruction attack to approximate its training data. A method called InstaHide recently won acclaim for promising to make such examples unrecognizable to human eyes while retaining their utility for training.