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AI-Powered Security Cameras In Colorado Schools
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Nearly 400 AI cameras are deployed in Cheyenne Mountain School District, Colorado Springs.
- Cameras use AI facial-recognition to track individuals based on photos or descriptions
- Critics raise concerns about privacy and AI surveillance disproportionately impacting marginalized students.
Nearly 400 AI-powered cameras are now operational across the Cheyenne Mountain School District in Colorado Springs, according to The Denver Post (TDP). These cameras, equipped with facial-recognition technology, allow school officials to track and identify individuals, sparking debates around privacy and security in schools.
The AI-enabled cameras can detect and track people based on physical characteristics or a photo uploaded into the system, notes TDP. School administrators can, for instance, input a picture of a “person of interest,” and the system will notify them when that individual is captured on camera, providing relevant footage in real time.
The cameras can also locate individuals by description, notes TDP. For example, a principal could search for a student wearing a red shirt and yellow backpack, and the AI system would locate any matching individuals within seconds.
“We need to balance that for potential misuses and overly zealous surveillance. That’s what we’ve been grappling with,” he added, as reported by TDP.
A few Colorado school districts and higher education institutions have adopted AI surveillance technologies to improve student safety. However, a statewide moratorium has blocked most schools from doing the same, though this could change when the ban ends next summer, said TDP.
At the same time, state legislators and experts are debating how best to regulate AI usage in schools, balancing security with concerns about privacy, and the ethics of using AI to monitor children.
TDP notes that last month, Verkada, a California-based security technologies company, held a conference in Denver to showcase its products, which include AI cameras, wireless lockdown systems, and panic buttons.
Representatives from Cheyenne Mountain School District and Aims Community College, both current users of Verkada’s technologies, attended the event to discuss how these tools have improved campus security, said TDP.
Greg Miller, executive director of technology for the Cheyenne Mountain district, highlighted the system’s efficiency:
“It’s been critical in multiple incidents where we can click on a face and know which door that child exited so they can find them and safely make sure they aren’t harming themselves. We can do that in under 30 seconds,” as reported by TDP.
Despite the technology’s potential benefits, there are concerns about its accuracy and impact on marginalized students. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado, part of the legislative AI task force, remains skeptical, notes TDP.
“We don’t think that the potential benefits — and there’s not a whole lot of data to prove those exist — outweigh the harms,” said Anaya Robinson, senior policy strategist at the ACLU of Colorado, as reported by TDP.
As the 2025 legislative session approaches, Colorado lawmakers are expected to propose new safeguards to ensure AI technologies in schools are used responsibly.
Photo by Umair Dingmar on Unsplash
Hitachi Partners With Nvidia to Launch AI-Powered Railway Service
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!
- Hitachi launched a new AI maintenance service powered by Nvidia technology
- The Japanese company asset manager HMAX will integrate the NVIDIA IGX platform
- The new technology is expected to reduce railway costs and idling time as well as improve accuracy and reliability
The Japanese company Hitachi launched a new AI-powered railway maintenance service in partnership with the tech giant Nvidia.
According to Nvidia , Hitachi—which operates railway systems in more than 50 countries— will use its NVIDIA IGX platform to analyze data from its new HMAX asset manager. The new HMAX uses sensors and cameras to gather operational data and now with the AI technology integration the companies expect to reduce train idling time, and maintenance costs for rail operators, and improve transit reliability for customers.
“Using previous digital monitoring systems, it would take a few days to process the data and discover issues that need attention,” said Koji Agatsuma, executive director and chief technology officer of rail vehicles at Hitachi Rail. “If we can instead conduct real-time prediction using NVIDIA technology, that enables us to avoid service disruptions and significantly improve safety, reliability and operating costs.”
HMAX technology is currently gathering data from 2,000 trains—about 8,000 train cars—and each Hitachi Rail train could have around 50,000 data points as it does in the U.K. All this information usually takes days to process, and with the new NVIDIA technology, the companies expect to get analysis within seconds for real-time solutions and optimization.
According to Kyoto News , Hitachi is already deploying the new AI technology in routes in Italy and Britain. “We believe AI has immediate and very impactful applications that will make railways run more efficiently,” said Hitachi Rail Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Marino at InnoTrans.
Nvidia keeps building new alliances with its AI technology. It also partnered with Richtech Robotics a few days ago to launch the bartender robot Scorpio.
