Tech Experts Developing AI to Protect Churches from Gunmen: A group of former Navy SEALs and technology experts including a director of safety at a church in California are working to develop artificial intelligence that would protect people from gunmen, especially in churches.
Matt Montana, director of safety at Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California, said in a recent episode of the Higher Ground With Billy Hallowell podcast, that his church is preparing to use AI to apprehend gunmen as they enter church premises.
“I came on staff here a little over three years ago after retiring from law enforcement,” he said. “And as I assessed the safety needs of our community … I really felt it was important to kind of identify some sort of technology that would allow us to identify if somebody had weapons on our campus.”
Montana the former law enforcement officer, is working alongside ZeroEyes, a company founded by a group of other ex-navy seals. According to Faithwire, the company describes itself as a “human-verified proactive gun detection and situational awareness software that integrates into existing digital security cameras with a mission to stop mass shootings and gun-related violence.”
Rob Huberty, COO and co-founder of ZeroEyes told Billy Hallowell that the 2018 Parkland High School shooting prompted the software’s invention.
“A bunch of us, we saw a video of the shooter who was out, and he had his gun out in front of a camera, and he actually talked to another student. He said, ‘Get out of here. It’s going to be bad,'” Huberty recalled. “And we said, ‘There’s an opportunity here to see a gun and do something before anything happens. What if somebody was watching this?'”
Montana, who spent the last 14 years of his career assigned to an FBI international terrorism squad, urges churches to take security seriously. In his view, those seeking to kill other innocent people are “just a fact of life”.
“I think it’s extremely important for me personally, for churches, houses of faith to recognize that and be vigilant — not to be paranoid, but be vigilant.”
Although the Valley Baptist Church has not activated ZeroEyes, church members have expressed support for the company for their protection.
“They’re grateful for the efforts we’re putting forward to protect the congregation,” Montana said.