How Can We Harness Technology to Help Prevent Mass Shootings?

Mass shootings are tragic and increasingly common, particularly in the United States. As people grapple with the best ways to curb these senseless events, they often wonder whether technology could be the way forward. It’s not the sole solution, but it could certainly help.

Using Big Data to Track Possible Trends

News coverage of mass shooters often includes interviews from startled people who knew the perpetrators, often discussing how the people in question were quiet individuals who kept out of trouble — seemingly extremely unlikely to commit such violence.

However, the more people learn about mass shootings and the people who commit them, the more it often becomes evident that common threads exist. That’s all thanks to big data.

One study involved examining 168 mass shootings occurring from 1968 to 2020. Researchers also contacted 32 people who had previously carried out these incidents.

The findings showed some valuable commonalities. For example, 42% of the shooters had traumatic early childhoods and exposure to violence while young. More than 80% had reached crisis points in the months, days, or hours before the shootings.

Approximately 50% had troubles at work before the shootings, including being fired or suspended. Then, about 25% went through romantic breakups before their violent acts.

People must not be too quick to latch onto what these findings might say. After all, individuals go through relational and workplace troubles daily without ever feeling compelled to carry out mass shootings.

However, these trends highlight some things mental health professionals, human resource executives, and others should be aware of — particularly if a particular individual has some of these characteristics and has also previously shown violent behavior.

Establishing a Gun Registry on the Blockchain

The United States does not currently have a federal gun registry. Although some states provide data to federal authorities during investigations, the lack of a centralized database makes it hard to trace a gun as the weapon goes through various stores, gun shows, and owners.

However, some people propose using blockchain technology to collect that information without violating privacy.

Some of the main benefits of that option are that people cannot change or delete information once it gets entered into the blockchain. Blockchain mechanisms are also in place to provide relevant parties with the data they need.

Blockchain-based gun tracking is not a new idea, either. In 2018, a University of California at Berkeley computer science graduate was meeting with legislators to propose a blockchain-based method of tracking U.S. gun sales.

The blockchain has become more well-established since then, especially since many Americans initially only associated the blockchain with cryptocurrency. That was its first primary usage, but many possibilities exist beyond that application.

Preventing Misuse With Smart Guns

We have smartphones, smart kitchen appliances, and smart speakers, to name a few. Now, some people assert that smart guns could stop mass shootings, as well as other accidents that result in injuries and fatalities.

People don’t have to look for very long to find news headlines about incidents where someone other than the gun owner used the weapon with devastating results.

Sometimes it happens when a child gets into a parent’s unlocked gun cabinet and wants to play with the weapon or gets overly curious. In other cases, a mass shooter knows where a loved one keeps a gun and uses it to orchestrate their attacks.

However, so-called smart guns could prevent such circumstances. They would feature biometric components that could recognize the person holding the weapon and refuse to fire unless the owner pulled the trigger.

As early as 2000, representatives from weapon manufacturer Smith & Wesson promised to begin developing smart guns, as well as making numerous other improvements to elevate gun safety by stopping misuse.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) was one of the prolific opposers of that work, slowing its progress.

However, Colorado startup Biofire could be a game-changer since it recently began taking preorders for the world’s first commercially available smart gun.

Kai Kloepfer — the company’s 26-year-old founder and CEO — started making prototypes in high school and created hundreds before settling on this model.

It uses fingerprint and facial recognition technology to verify a user’s identity. The gun is disabled by default but instantly usable by the rightful owner.

Analyzing the Scene With Artificial Intelligence

One decade in the United States included more than 4,500 mass shootings. That unfortunate reality has led to people receiving active shooter training as part of their earliest years in school.

Many workplaces now have hidden panic buttons that allow people to alert law enforcement to gun violence.

Individuals interested in applying advanced technologies to stop gun violence often wonder how artificial intelligence might help. For example, artificial neural networks can detect the sounds of live gunshots, shortening the time frame when help arrives.

Another AI solution recently deployed in Philadelphia augments existing security cameras and only takes three to five seconds to alert law enforcement representatives once someone brandishes a gun.

In addition to determining the gun user’s real-time location, the technology can tell what the person looks like, what they’re wearing, and the type of gun they have.

There’s also a sound-based AI product that can distinguish between gunshots and similar noises, such as fireworks. It only takes about a minute to do that, then sends alerts of genuine gun incidents to law enforcement.

In Alabama, Mobile City Council members voted unanimously to support a lucrative contract with the Alabama Power Company to have the technology installed.

However, some people worry that this decision signals a transition toward excessive surveillance of innocent residents and citizens. They point out how there’s a fine line between public safety and privacy.

Thus, they want to ensure there are adequate privacy protections before the rollout of this technology.

Using Virtual Reality to Design Against Active Shooters

A building’s layout can be critical for determining how many people survive mass shootings. Most individuals naturally panic during emergencies, potentially leading to stampedes and other issues associated with overcrowding as people try to escape.

That’s why University of Southern California researchers believe building design improvements will be instrumental in making mass shootings less deadly.

The team received a grant from the National Science Foundation for a project that relies on virtual reality to create a simulated environment where people can see the effects of certain design decisions on a building.

For example, the virtual reality setting allows designers to mimic active shooter situations, then make various design changes to keep people safer. The technology aspect enables the designers to benefit from scenarios they couldn’t ethically create otherwise.

The team ultimately worked with virtual environments simulating an office and a school. They could then determine things like the optimal location and number of entrances and exits, how to eliminate places for shooters to hide, and where to use frosted glass.

Part of the experiment involved having hundreds of school and office workers go through the virtual reality environments and try to escape a simulated shooter. The results will show designers which choices work well and which still have room for improvement.

Technology Is Essential for Reducing Mass Shootings

These examples highlight why technology is so important for helping modern society make progress in addressing mass shootings. No single technology can prevent all incidents.

However, it’s easy to see how people could use all or some of the possibilities here to keep people safer by preventing mass shootings while minimizing fatalities and injuries when they occur.