While medical experts urge Americans to think of firearm use as a public health crisis, artificial intelligence-powered vending machines dispensing ammunition have popped up at grocery stores in Southern states.
“Our smart retail automated ammo dispensers have built-in AI technology, card scanning capability and facial recognition software,” reads a message on the homepage of the American Rounds website. According to the site, these vending machines are operational at several locations throughout Alabama and Oklahoma. The first was installed in Pell City, Ala., last November.
Reports this week noted that another location has since been added in Texas for a total of eight. NPR said the Dallas, Texas-based company planned to install a new machine in Colorado this week and that it expects to install many more.
“We had requests in Hawaii, requests in Alaska, from California to Florida and every state in between for the most part,” American Rounds CEO Grant Magers told the outlet. “We have currently about 200 grocery stores that we’re working on fulfilling orders on machines for.”
American Rounds vending machines use touch screen technology, so they work a bit more like those soda machines that offer tons of options than a traditional vending machine. They carry major brands of shotgun, rifle and handgun rounds, with varied inventory based on location and hunting season.
So far, the machines are located at rural grocery stores in areas where hunting is common. Magers said each is a 2,000-pound, triple-locked, double-walled steel box. These boxes are only installed indoors, where they are monitored by security cameras and restocked by vetted staff.
To check out at one of the machines, customers are required to scan their valid ID to verify they are at least 21 years old. They will also have a facial recognition scan to make sure they provided their own ID.
“Otherwise, the transaction is voided,” said NPR. It also reported that “Magers stresses that the company doesn’t store or sell that data.”
IDs may be required to purchase ammunition from the machines, but there are no plans to use the technology for background checks.
While the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) told NPR that a federal license is not required to sell ammunition, it also said that commercial sales must comply with state laws.
“The same federal laws that disqualify people from accessing firearms based on things like their criminal history also apply to ammunition, though do not require sellers to conduct background checks, according to Giffords, a gun control research and advocacy center,” said NPR. “Only a handful of states have passed laws requiring background checks or licenses to purchase ammunition.”
Magers said that the American Rounds vending machines provide a new, safer way for ammo to be sold. Her added that it is currently stocked on shelves at retail stores, where it is easier to steal than it is within the vending machines.
“Having firearms stored separately from ammunition, unloaded and locked up so that kids and elderly and yourself can’t accidentally injure somebody or that someone won’t commit suicide or homicide in the household, that’s important stuff,” said Chethan Sathya, director of the Center for Gun Violence Prevention at Northwell Health. “So I think there's an opportunity there, if this company wants to take that, to actually enhance firearm safety and public health.”
Still, he and other experts have reservations about the AI-powered machines. For example, Sathya said the machines shouldn’t replace background checks.
“I’m not sure what problem the company is solving that wouldn’t be solved by responsible ownership of any facility selling ammunition,” said George Tita, a professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California, Irvine. Tita also stressed that these machines won’t be able to tell if customers are angry or agitated as a sales clerk would be able to.
Andrew Whaley, the senior technical director at Norwegian cybersecurity firm Promon, also mentioned to Business Insider that the technology could be vulnerable to bugs or hacking.
“This isn’t a joke. Grocery stores in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas are selling firearm ammunition in vending machines – and a grocery store near you could be next,” said a message from Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “The gun industry wants to treat ammunition like it’s candy. But easier access to bullets is the last thing our country needs, especially as guns are the number one killer of kids in America.”
According to Newsweek, one of the American Rounds machines in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after its legality was questioned. Magers said its removal was a business decision.
He also told NPR he hopes to provide hunting and fishing licenses and National Rifle Association memberships through the machines sometime soon, and that he can install 20 machines monthly with the company’s current staffing level.
Feedback regarding the machines has been positive so far, Magers said.
Yet, concerns about increased access to ammunition are likely to persist as gun violence continues to be a dangerous and deadly issue in the U.S. According to Gun Violence Archive data cited by Everytown, there were more than 500 shootings over the recent July 4 holiday weekend. Amid those shootings, there were at least 180 fatalities.
Just last month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a historic Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence. He said gun violence in the U.S. is a public health crisis, and several medical associations praised the action.