NYC Subway AI Weapons Scanners Yield High False Positive Rate and Detect No Guns in Month-Long Pilot Test

The New York Police Department conducted a 30-day pilot program testing AI-powered weapons scanners manufactured by Evolv at 20 subway stations, performing 2,749 scans in total. The scanners failed to detect any passengers with firearms but generated 118 false positives, representing a 4.29% false alarm rate. The scanners did detect 12 knives, though police declined to specify whether these were illegal weapons or permitted tools like pocket knives. Mayor Eric Adams had announced the pilot program as part of efforts to deter subway violence, despite Evolv CEO Peter George previously stating that subways were not a good use case for their technology due to interference from railways. Concurrently, the Federal Trade Commission entered a settlement with Evolv resolving claims that the company made misleading marketing representations about their technology's capabilities. The FTC alleged that Evolv's Express scanners were fundamentally metal detectors rather than sophisticated weapons detection systems, and that the company overstated their accuracy and effectiveness. Evolv also faced a class-action lawsuit from investors alleging the company overstated device capabilities. The Legal Aid Society characterized the pilot program results as 'objectively a failure' and called for the program to be permanently shelved.