CTA rolls out AI gun detection technology for Chicago transit system
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Transit Authority on Thursday announced the rollout of software designed to detect guns on the 'L'—and it's powered by artificial intelligence.
The CTA started rolling out the technology a month ago as part of a small pilot program.
The transit agency said it is not releasing the exact locations where the technology is being used "for security reasons," but said Thursday that it targeted stations across its system.
In a promotional video ZeroEyes says it uses existing surveillance video cameras, coupled with its own artificial intelligence, to detect guns. The CTA on Thursday also shared a demonstration of the ZeroEyes software on the Blue Line—using various types of guns in different locations.
In the demonstration, the AI software picked up a long gun held by an actor on the platform. Then, it identified a handgun near the ticket turnstiles, and then another handgun drawn alongside the tracks.
The CTA said ZeroEyes staff verify if the object detected is actually a brandished firearm, and then notify local law enforcement to respond immediately. ZeroEyes says its verification experts are military-trained.
The CTA emphasized that the Pennsylvania-based ZeroEyes does not use facial identification technology.
Right now, only platform cameras—not train cameras—are outfitted with the technology. ZeroEyes technology is currently in use at major transit agencies and schools around the country, and in Chicago it is already being used at Navy Pier.
The company is not without its critics, of whom Edwin Yohnka of the American Civil Liberties Union Illinois is one.
"Where's the discussion of why this is necessary, or what it will do in public in a transparent way?" Yohnka said. "Instead, we get, you know, a press release from a company that's promoting its product."
Yohnka pointed to issues with false alarms—like a case last October when a shadow cast by a student's arm triggered a lockdown at a school in Texas.
He also takes issue with the growing network of surveillance blanketing the city.
Yohnka's biggest concern is transparency for riders.
"There ought to not only be a hearing before such things are installed, but there ought to be periodic reports that actually look at what the effectiveness and the efficiencies of such technologies are," he said.
A CTA spokesperson said the ZeroEyes technology is "just complementing the security efforts we already have in place."
The CTA has a one-year contract with ZeroEyes valued at up to $200,000.