Kash Patel says he’s increased FBI’s AI use by 605 percent, and the agency used the technology to stop school shootings

On Saturday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau has relied on artificial intelligence to halt school shootings across about half a dozen states since he began serving in the role. He also said the FBI’s use of that technology has risen by 605 percent under his leadership.

He spoke on Fox News’ Saturday in America, where host Kayleigh McEnany brought up a March remark from Patel. In that earlier comment, he claimed agents had stopped a planned school shooting in North Carolina after an AI system helped sort a “tip.”

“We’ve done it in North Carolina and about half a dozen other states to prevent school shootings since I’ve been in the seat,” Patel told McEnany.

Patel describes lawful AI as a tool for sorting FBI data

“AI, when used lawfully, is a critical tool to triage data. For far too long the institutional morass in D.C. rejected the advancements of technology,” Patel said.

“I have increased the use of AI in the FBI by 605 percent,” he continued. “And what we’re about to do is work with our … partners and look at databases and collect information and get DNA and then get these threats back out to the field and stop people from killing children at schools.”

Patel said the decision to lean more heavily on AI at the FBI was not “a political mission.” According to The Hill, he also faulted Democrats for skipping questions about the technology at his Tuesday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

The FBI’s crime statistics under Patel have also drawn scrutiny, as when former Trump advisor Steve Bannon said nobody believes the agency’s numbers. 

After that session, Patel appeared on Fox News’s Hannity and accused Democratic members of the panel of acting “like buffoons on Capitol Hill.”

During the hearing, the committee questioned Patel about reports that taxpayer money paid for personal trips. Those accounts cited alleged costs associated with “date night” travel with his girlfriend, sporting events, and a hunting retreat.

Patel rejected those claims in a July letter to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). He wrote in the letter that he was “fully compliant” with bureau rules.

The bureau’s wider use of AI arrives as some technology executives have called for a slower rollout so safety measures can catch up. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said last week, “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models.”

Amodei later proposed an antitrust waiver that would let AI companies jointly set a safety standard. Lawmakers pushed back, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who said at Patel’s hearing there is “absolutely no world” where he would give these companies “antitrust exemptions.”