How AI is helping Pa. schools respond faster to threats
-
Asia Tabb
aired; August 7, 2026
Artificial intelligence is becoming a larger part of school safety, but experts say it isn’t replacing people. Instead, it’s serving as another tool to help schools respond faster during emergencies.
ZeroEyes, a Pennsylvania-based technology company, was founded after the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. The company’s software integrates with existing security cameras to identify visible firearms and other weapons before incidents escalate.
Chief Strategy Officer Kieran Carroll said the idea came after recognizing a common trend in many public shootings. “The one commonality that we kept finding is that the vast majority of public gun violence happens under the purview of an already existing security camera. And typically the perpetrator has a visible brandished weapon. So we said, can we build a technology solution to help mitigate the next Parkland shooting?”
Every alert generated by the AI is reviewed by trained analysts before being sent to school officials or emergency responders. “The company has really strong conviction in teaming artificial intelligence with human intelligence… our analysts are going to validate every single alert that comes off our platform as either a true threat or not.”
Carroll also addressed concerns about privacy, saying the software is designed to focus only on visible weapons. “Our software is only looking for visible brandished threat objects… we also don’t do things like facial recognition or facial detection or behavioral characterization or really anything predictive.”
The company says its technology is now used in thousands of schools nationwide, including about 60 school districts across Pennsylvania. ZeroEyes recently announced a $10 million investment to expand its Pennsylvania operations, adding jobs while continuing to develop AI and public safety technology.
Despite those advances, Carroll said technology alone cannot prevent violence. “Mental health is a huge issue, particularly in schools… I think technology is best when everything else has been exhausted… I think technology is really one of the best stop gaps that we have.”
Listen to the podcast to hear the full conversation.