FBI Increases AI Use by 605% to Help Prevent School Shootings, Patel Says

FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau has increased its use of artificial intelligence by 605 per cent and used the technology to help prevent potential school shootings in North Carolina and several other US states.

Patel made the claim during an interview on Fox News’ “Saturday in America” on Saturday, September 19, before reiterating it in a post on X. Fox News reported that Patel discussed the bureau’s use of AI to triage threats and identify information that can be passed to agents in the field.

“WE ARE STOPPING SCHOOL SHOOTINGS BEFORE THEY HAPPEN,” Patel wrote on X.

“North Carolina — and roughly half a dozen other states.”

He added: “We increased the FBI’s use of AI by 605% to triage threats, get critical information to the field, and STOP people from killing children in our schools.”

“This is not political. This is the mission,” Patel said.

The FBI director said the bureau would continue using technological tools within the law to prevent threats against schools and children.

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“We will use every lawful technological tool available to safeguard our most precious resource: our children,” he said.

During the Fox News interview with Kayleigh McEnany, Patel said the FBI had used AI in North Carolina and about half a dozen other states to prevent school shootings since he became director. He described AI as a tool for processing and triaging information received by the bureau.

Patel had previously said in March that the FBI prevented a potential school shooting in North Carolina after using artificial intelligence to triage a tip. He has also said the bureau has incorporated technology companies into its operations to expand its use of AI in areas including counterterrorism.

The FBI says its threat-assessment operations are designed to identify concerning behaviour and support federal, state and local law-enforcement partners in preventing targeted violence. The bureau’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Center provides threat-assessment and threat-management support to law-enforcement agencies and other partners.

Patel’s latest comments come as the FBI continues to expand its use of artificial intelligence for threat detection, analysis and processing. In prepared remarks for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this week, he said the bureau had expanded its AI use by 605 per cent.