Security startup put a paintball gun on a security camera – KnowTechie

A Slovenian startup, PaintCam, has created a dystopian nightmare of an AI-powered home security camera that can fire paintballs at intruders or step things up to lob tear gas canisters in their direction.

Yes, apparently, it’s not enough to have a great home security camera system to deter intruders or catch them on video. Now you can roll your own security complete with automated turret defenses.

PaintCam Eve is the latest in smart home tech that should have died at the pitch stages. The only person who will get locked up by the authorities is the home owner that installed it, not any potential intruders.

Why? Because tear gas in canister form is illegal in many cities and states, even if pocket-sized sprays are often sold for personal safety.

That salient point aside, even firing paintballs at intruders could be problematic. The AI-powered camera system here can be triggered remotely through the app or by the on-device AI, with the user being safe at a different location.

With home and self-defense laws being as they are, without an immediate threat to personal safety, the homeowner would be the one being in hot water with the law.

And the claims of AI managing to detect trusted faces, family pets, or anything else? My video doorbell has trouble identifying packages on some days, so you can guess where my feelings lie here.

Even if we could trust the AI (spoiler: we can’t), how do we trust the owner with their finger over the in-app trigger?

The PaintCam Eve is launching via Kickstarter on April 23. It’s worth noting that the preview page for the crowdfunding campaign only mentions paintballs and not the reprehensible tear gas canisters.

Presumably, that’s because Kickstarter’s list of prohibited items includes weapons or “projects that are illegal, heavily regulated, or potentially dangerous for backers.” We’d imagine tear gas would qualify.

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