The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District in Texas previously purchased an AI-assisted service to monitor the social media of students and identify potential threats, documents show. Uvalde paid for the Social Sentinel technology in 2019 and used it in the 2019-2020 school year. It's unclear if the district was still using it at the time of Tuesday's mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. More: - Navigate360, which operates Social Sentinel, says its AI-driven software scans communications in the emails and public social media posts of schools and other organizations.
- It was developed to recognize "signals" in digital content that may indicate when people might commit harm against themselves or others.
- In a document from the 2019-2020 year, Uvalde said it used Social Sentinel to "monitor all social media" linked to its schools. This would help it "identify any possible threats that might be made against students and or staff within the school district," the document said.
- Navigate360 did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Post. The publication noted that the suspected shooter in Uvalde appeared to have been active on Instagram, where he posted a photo of two AR15-style rifles several days before the shooting.
- According to The Dallas Morning News, Social Sentinel is "widely used" across Texas.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS 
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A Michigan high school that was the site of a November mass shooting is now testing AI-powered technology that claims to identify guns through security cameras. The technology's developer, ZeroEyes, chose Oxford High School in the Detroit suburb of Oxford Township for its yearlong pilot program. More: - ZeroEyes says its technology integrates with existing security cameras at schools.
- The firm's AI software identifies guns in security footage. If that occurs, the system sends an alert to ZeroEyes employees, who determine if the threat is real.
- If confirmed, a text is sent to law enforcement and school security officials in less than five seconds, according to the company.
- The system only recognizes guns viewable on camera.
- Oxford High School currently has 100 cameras, which have now been synced with the AI software and video analytics.
- ZeroEyes says its system is used in public K-12 districts in 14+ states. It was founded by former Navy SEALs and military personnel in 2018 following the Parkland shooting.
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- HBR columnist Steve Glaveski: “[async collaboration] truly gives people the freedom to decide when and where to work.”
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AI ethics expert Diane Staheli has been appointed chief of responsible AI at the Pentagon. Staheli, who has led AI and other tech projects at MIT's Lincoln Lab, works at the Pentagon's new Chief Data and AI Office (CDAO). More: - Staheli will now lead the responsible AI division at the CDAO, where she'll oversee standards and more to help ensure that the Pentagon's AI algorithms are accountable and trustworthy.
- At the MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Massachusetts, Staheli was most recently an assistant group leader in artificial intelligence technology.
- The laboratory is a DoD federally funded R&D center that applies advanced technologies to national security issues.
Zoom-out: - Staheli's appointment comes during a restructuring of the Pentagon's AI efforts under the newly created CDAO role.
- The Pentagon's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, the chief data officer, and Defense Digital Services will be rolled into the new CDAO office as of June 1.
- The Pentagon recently hired Craig Martell, Lyft's former head of machine learning, as its new chief digital and artificial intelligence officer.
- Martell oversees AI operations, data, and analytics for the DoD. He reports directly to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
FEDSCOOP
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California's DMV revoked Pony.ai's license to test its autonomous cars with a driver, citing "numerous violations" on the driving records of the company's safety drivers. Pony.ai, which does most of its operations in China, said it would investigate the issue further and continue testing in China. More: - According to the DMV, Pony had 41 different self-driving test vehicles and 71 safety drivers licensed in the state.
- Pony.ai reportedly confirmed that it received the DMV notice and that the license was revoked, effective immediately, due to the records of three specific drivers.
- The Fremont, Calif.-based company no longer has any testing permits in California. In December, a state regulator suspended Pony.ai's driverless testing permit following an accident in which the company's autonomous vehicle hit a road divider in Fremont.
- In China, Pony.ai is faring better. The company was recently granted a permit to provide ride-hailing services without a driver in the main seat in southeastern Beijing.
TECHCRUNCH
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ICYMI: Data intelligence firm Near will list on the Nasdaq by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Near's cloud-based AI platform provides access to anonymized, location-based profiles of users based on information that Near merges from carriers, phones, and other sources. More: - Near said it will merge with the blank-check company KludeIn I Acquisition Corp. at a valuation close to $1B.
- Once the deal closes, the company will be named "Near Intelligence Inc." and trade under the ticker "NIR."
- The company also announced a $100M equity investment from CF Principal Investments, an affiliate of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
- Founded in 2012, Pasadena-based Near says it now has 1.6 billion anonymized user profiles from 70 million locations in 44 countries.
- Its customers reportedly include McDonald's, Wendy's, Ford, the CBRE Group, and 60% of the Fortune 500.
TECHCRUNCH
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🍋 FRESH FUNDING 🍋 - Heartex (San Francisco, Calif.), open-source platform for data labeling: $25M A led by Redpoint Ventures, participation from Unusual Ventures, Bow Capital, Swift Ventures.
- Nextbillion.ai (Singapore), spatial data management platform: $21M B round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investment, participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpha Wave Global, M12.
- Fairtility (Tel Aviv, Israel), AI-based in vitro fertilization service: $15M A led by Gurnet Point Capital, participation from Nacre Capital, et al.
- RobotPlusPlus (Beijing, China), aerial work robots: $15M B led by Meituan, participation from Fosun.
- Fulcrum (Denver, Colo.), data personalization platform: $5M Angel.
For the latest on AI startup funding and more in the VC community, subscribe to our newsletter, Inside Venture Capital.
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- New research shows that algorithmic "players" directly boost the performance of human players in an agent-based simulation test, suggesting that algorithms could complement human problem-solving through cultural transmission and have "long-lasting effects" on human culture.
- Dyson is hiring engineers to further develop its robotic prototypes that can perform common household tasks.
- Kao Data announced that it will host speech recognition firm Speechmatics' HPC and AI supercomputer.
- New York's State Office for the Aging is sending Intuition Robotics' ElliQ voice companion to 800 older adults to help combat social isolation.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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