If you’re sick of hearing about AI gun detection systems, believe me, I’m sick of writing about them, but here we go again. This time it’s a St. Louis-based partnership between Hackett Security and a Texas company called Scylla. Yes, Scylla, as in the man-eating sea monster from Greek mythology. Not exactly the name that screams safety or trust, but I guess “Mythical Murder Beast Security Solutions” didn’t test well in focus groups.

According to a FOX 2 News demonstration, the “Hackett-Scylla” system uses artificial intelligence to spot guns on camera before a shooter can even fire a shot. The AI supposedly distinguishes between tools and weapons, sending out alerts to phones and command centers the moment someone brandishes a firearm. The company claims it’s “nearly 100% accurate,” that it’s installed in more than a hundred places, and that it can automatically lock doors or call police within seconds.

It all sounds impressive on paper, but corporate demonstrations always do. The real test is how these systems perform in live, high-stress situations. So far, that track record includes a Black teenager in Baltimore County detained at gunpoint for carrying a bag of Doritos and a teenage girl arrested for making an ill-advised joke. Both were victims of false positives from similar AI-driven surveillance tools.

And yet, the sales pitch rolls on. Companies like Omnilert and now Scylla keep promising to “change the game,” as if machine learning can neutralize centuries of gun culture. They keep saying these systems will prevent school shootings, but they never talk about preventing the guns themselves. Because if there were no guns, there would be no shootings. And if there were no shootings, these companies wouldn’t have a business model.

What we’re really seeing is another techbro fantasy of turning tragedy into opportunity. AI-as-security-savior isn’t about safety; it’s about profit. It’s about exploiting fear, grief, and the endless American cycle of violence to sell subscriptions and camera systems.

You can’t algorithm your way out of a bullet. And you can’t fix the problem while ignoring the thing that actually kills people.

Until we face that, the Scyllas of the world will keep feeding.

(Source)

• AI gun detection system links cameras to alert authorities