VOA教育报道2023--Can Tech Protect US Schools from Mass Shootings?

Can Tech Protect US Schools from Mass Shootings?

The many school shootings across the United States have led to demand from schools for advanced technology security systems.

A little over one year ago, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. Days later, taser maker¹ Axon Enterprise had an idea for how to prevent such attacks. It suggested schools use "non-lethal²" drones that are powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Many people who work at the company disagreed with the idea. The company's own AI ethics³ board quit in protest. The event showed the growing unease about the ethics and effectiveness of security tools being marketed to American schools.

Schools have been able to use nearly $200 billion in new COVID-19 relief money and other government funding to purchase such tools, said Odis Johnson Jr. He is director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools in Baltimore, Maryland.

More schools have more money, he said. "And there's a robust⁴ tech sector⁵ pushing these technologies."

Rita Bishop⁶ is the former head of the school system in Roanoke, Virginia. She said she had to stop taking calls from companies that sell things like AI-powered surveillance cameras and weapons detectors⁸.

Gun-detection systems

For some experts and school safety officials, new tech-based tools are just one way to prevent school violence.

Dave Fraser is head of Omnilert. The company developed an AI-powered tool that connects to school surveillance cameras to detect guns.

Charles County Public Schools in Maryland decided⁹ to use Omnilert. Jason Stoddard is the school system's security director. He said he noticed that the shooters in Uvalde and in another attack had neared the school with their guns drawn¹⁰. That played a part in the school system's decision to use Omnilert.

Omnilert is one of a growing list of companies offering gun-detection technologies.

ZeroEyes said its gun detection technology is used in schools and other places in over 30 states. Like Omnilert, it has human reviewers who check guns that its AI system detects.

According to the Intercept¹¹ news site, more than 65 school systems have bought or tested AI gun-detection tools since 2018. The schools spent a total of over $45 million on the technologies.

There are serious questions, however, about the effectiveness of such tools, said Ken¹² Trump¹³. He is the president of National School Safety and Security Services, a school safety consulting group.

He said schools have become testing grounds for "very underdeveloped AI software."

He said schools have been increasingly drawn to tech solutions without taking simple measures. He said schools have not looked to measures like training teachers on how to respond to shootings, making structural¹⁴ improvements to buildings, and keeping doors locked.

Surveillance tools might help quicken a school's response. But they are unlikely to prevent shooters, said Johnson Jr. of Johns Hopkins.

He added that there is no research into the effectiveness of these AI technologies.

Classroom ‘surveillance zone'

There are also ethical¹⁵ concerns.

"Kids need to be in schools that treat them like students, instead of suspects," said Johnson Jr.

He and other experts worry that surveillance solutions to school violence create a hostile environment. He said it could be especially negative for Black students and students from other overpoliced communities.

Words in This Story

advanced — adj. beyond the basic level

taser — n. —used for a gun that fires electrified¹⁶ darts¹⁷ to immobilize a person

lethal — adj. causing or able to cause death

ethics — n. rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad

relief — n. a pleasant and relaxed feeling that someone has when something unpleasant stops or does not happen

robust — adj. strong and healthy

detector⁷ — n. a device that can tell if a substance or object is present

review — n. an act of carefully looking at or examining the quality or condition of something or someone

consult — v. to go to for advice

 

respond — n. to say or write something as an answer to a question or request

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

4 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

7 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

8 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

12 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

15 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

16 electrified   

v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
• The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 darts   

n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• His darts trophy takes pride of place on the mantelpiece. 他将掷镖奖杯放在壁炉顶上最显著的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I never saw so many darts in a bodice! 我从没见过紧身胸衣上纳了这么多的缝褶！ 来自《简明英汉词典》