UMD Researchers Help ID 5 Keys to Reducing Gun Violence by 2040

Two University of Maryland researchers were among the co-authors of a new report spotlighting five actions that experts deem “essential” to significantly reducing gun violence in the United States by 2040.

Joseph Richardson—co-director of UMD’s Prevent Gun Violence: Research, Empowerment, Strategies & Solutions (PROGRESS) Initiative and a professor of African-American studies, medical anthropology and epidemiology—and Sheena Erete, associate director of research for the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM) and an associate professor in the College of Information, joined 39 other experts to jointly produce the report, published Nov. 3 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The report summarizes discussions at a March 2025 JAMA summit that included 60 thought leaders spanning multiple fields: public health, criminology, sociology, history, engineering, law, community violence intervention, public policy and more. Among the topics were innovations in safety technology and federal and state oversight, and ethical considerations when working with communities. It also presented the experts’ shared vision for their hopes for 2040, which they said will require five steps:

1. Focus on communities and change fundamental structures that lead to firearm harms;
2. Harness regulatory and technological opportunities responsibly;
3. Change the narrative on the preventability of firearm harms;
4. Take a whole-government and whole-society approach; and
5. Spark a research revolution on preventing firearm harms.

Of those, Richardson sees particular potential in the use of today’s technological tools.

“A key takeaway which is often understudied is the use of technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), in gun violence research, and ensuring that AI is used ethically, equitably and responsibly for the safety of our communities,” he said.

Erete shares Richardson’s interest in further studying how we might harness technology to reduce harm, without potentially inflicting other kinds of harm on communities.

“I also believe that if we are to use, create, design and build AI tools, they must be community-centered, not only supporting community efforts to reduce violence, but also helping to counter harmful narratives about who deserves to experience safety,” she said. “In this country, there is often a silent acceptance that some areas will experience more violence and that it’s somehow okay; however, if we are to address violence, we have to first address the structural factors that catalyze such violence, such as economic inequity, disinvestment and institutional mistrust.”