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New York City is turning to AI-powered scanners\u00a0in a new bid<\/a>\u00a0to keep guns out of its subway system, but the pilot program launched Friday is already being met with skepticism from riders and the threat of a lawsuit from civil liberties advocates who say the searches are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n The Evolv scanner \u2014 a sleek-looking weapons detector using artificial intelligence to search riders for guns and knives \u2014 was on display at a lower Manhattan subway station where Mayor Eric Adams announced the 30-day trial.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is good technology,\u201d Adams said at Fulton Center near the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n \u201cWould I rather that we don\u2019t have to be scanned? Yes,\u201d he added. \u201cBut if you would speak to the average subway rider, they would state that they don\u2019t want guns on their subway system, and if it means using scanners, then bring the scanners on.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams, a self-described \u201ctech geek,\u201d has stressed that the scanners are still in the experimental phase. The machines, already in use at baseball stadiums and other venues, will be deployed to a small number of stations and only a fraction of riders will be asked to step through them. The city has not entered into a contract with Evolv, and Adams said other companies were welcomed to pitch their own gun-detection innovations.<\/p>\n The scanners, about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall, feature the logo of the city\u2019s police department and a multicolor light display. When a weapon is detected, an alert is sent to a tablet monitored by a pair of NYPD officers. The system is not supposed to alert everyday items, such as phones and laptops \u2014 though a reporter\u2019s iPad case set it off Friday.<\/p>\n The scanners drew immediate protest from civil liberties advocates. The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society said they would sue the city if the technology is rolled out widely, alleging the searches violated the constitutional rights of riders.<\/p>\n \u201cCity officials have admitted that these scanners are primarily to combat some riders\u2019 \u2018perceptions\u2019 that they are unsafe on the subway \u2014 this is not a justifiable basis to violate the Constitution,\u201d said NYCLU attorney Daniel Lambright.<\/p>\n The scanners also spurred concerns from riders who said it isn\u2019t practical or plausible to subject millions of commuters to security screenings.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not going to work,\u201d said Dre Thomas, 25, shaking his head at the device. \u201cIt\u2019d have to be at every point in the subway. I don\u2019t see how that\u2019s possible. It seems to me like another way to waste taxpayer money.\u201d<\/p>\n Wyatt Hotis, 29, said he thought the scanners were a good idea but \u201cnot the root of the issue\u201d when people getting pushed onto the tracks were a bigger safety concern. Hotis instead suggested adding guardrails and barriers to the platforms, along with more officers to patrol them.<\/p>\n Margaret Bortner, among the first riders to go through the scanner, described the 30-second process as painless \u2014 but didn\u2019t see the need to have them at every station.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are more important things officers should be doing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Though there have been high-profile incidents, like\u00a0a 2022 shooting<\/a>\u00a0on a Brooklyn train that left 10 people wounded, crime in the New York City subway system has fallen in recent years. Overall, violent crime in the system is rare, with train cars and stations being generally as safe as any other public place.<\/p>\n So far this year, subway crime is down 8% through July 21 compared with the same period in 2023, according to police data. Last year, there were five killings in the subway, down from 10 the year prior, according to police.<\/p>\n Adams has long discussed the possibility of adding weapons detectors to the subway system. He suggested this week that \u201ceventually, every turnstile is going to be able to identify if someone is carrying a gun,\u201d but doing so could require the city to deploy thousands of police officers to respond to gun alerts.<\/p>\n Experts have also expressed doubts about the feasibility of adding the technology to the city\u2019s sprawling subway system, which includes 472 stations with multiple ways in and out. Fulton Center, the subway hub where the mayor spoke, illustrates the challenges of deploying the detectors in a system designed to be as accessible as possible.<\/p>\n There are multiple entrances spread out over several blocks, with dozens of turnstiles used by as many as 300,000 riders a day. During rush hour, they are often sprinting to catch a train. Anyone who wanted to bring a gun in without passing through a scanner could simply walk to another entrance or a nearby station.<\/p>\n The CEO of Evolv, Peter George, has himself acknowledged that subways are \u201cnot a great use-case\u201d for the scanners,\u00a0according to the Daily News.<\/a><\/p>\n Evolv has said that its scanning system uses artificial intelligence to screen up to 3,600 people per hour, quickly detecting the \u201csignatures\u201d of guns, knives and explosives while not alerting cell phones and other metal devices.<\/p>\n The company has faced a spate of lawsuits in recent years, along with federal probes into its marketing practices. Evolv told investors last year that it was contacted by the Federal Trade Commission and in February said it had been contacted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a \u201cfact finding inquiry.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, investors filed a\u00a0class-action lawsuit<\/a>, accusing company executives of overstating the devices\u2019 capabilities and claiming that \u201cEvolv does not reliably detect knives or guns.\u201d The company has\u00a0claimed<\/a>\u00a0that it is being targeted by a misinformation campaign by those \u201cincentivized to discredit the company.\u201d<\/p>\n New York City has experimented with a variety of security measures to ensure the protection of its vast subway system. In 2005, the NYPD ran a pilot project aimed at examining the feasibility of using explosive detection technology in the subways.<\/p>\n Then, the department began doing random searches of people\u2019s bags as they entered the subway system. That effort was also rolled out with much fanfare, but such bag checks \u2014 while not completely abandoned \u2014 are rare today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong><\/p>\n