Class action lawsuit filed against AI weapons detection company used in Tennessee schools, venues, arenas
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A weapons detection technology company used by schools and venues across Tennessee is being sued.
The class action lawsuit against Evolv Technology alleges the publicly traded company lied about the effectiveness of its artificial intelligence-powered weapons detection scanners.
Evolv’s scanners are used at Nissan Stadium, Bridgestone Arena, Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools and Rutherford County schools to name a few. The company advertises its technology as a replacement for metal detectors that can detect guns, knives and bombs on people as they enter a building.
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In a 39-page lawsuit, plaintiffs say they were deceived by Evolv and the system, “does not reliably detect knives or guns.”
The plaintiffs go on to allege Evolv had, “taken significant action to make it appear that its products were effective, including manipulating test results.
The lawsuit references a 2022 Evolv blog post saying they had “third-party validation” of the scanner’s effectiveness.
However, the suit includes screenshots of test results pulled from news articles and posts by another security company claiming to show Evolv’s technology is not as effective as advertised.
The court documents also contain a screenshot of an email from Evolv’s Vice President of Technical Sales to the group producing the third-party report with edits to the final document.
“Evolv was heavily involved in the decision-making and language of the final report issued,” the plaintiffs claim.
In a statement to News 2, Evolv said they can’t comment on any pending litigation.
“We stand behind our technology and are proud to partner with hundreds of security professionals around the world.”
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The plaintiffs suing Evolv are demanding a jury trial and asking for compensation for the alleged lies.
Clarksville-Montgomery and Rutherford County Schools are both piloting an Evolv system and said they are still in the trial phase and continuing to monitor and test the technology.
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