Axon Halts ‘Taser Drone’ Project After Most Of Its Ethics Board Resigns
Image via Axon
Sometimes, thinking too out of the box could backfire on you. Axon, the creator of the Taser stun gun, is pausing plans to produce a taser-equipped drone, which it touted as a “solution” to foil attacks from mass shooters.
Axon’s determination to launch the drone came into conflict with the recommendations of the company’s independent AI Ethics and Advisory Board, driving nine out of 12 of the panel’s members to quit, according to Gizmodo. Needless to say, the idea also drew outrage among members of the public and civil liberty advocates.
The devices were envisioned to be “non-lethal… with TASER weapon capabilities.” Axon suggested that by pre-installing them in public areas, the drones could hinder gun violence attempts within minutes. The project came to light mere weeks after the tragic shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York.
“Today, the only viable response to a mass shooter is another person with a gun,” Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith said then. “In the aftermath of these events, we get stuck in fruitless debates. We need new and better solutions. For this reason, we have elected to publicly engage communities and stakeholders, and develop a remotely operated, non-lethal drone system that we believe will be a more effective, immediate, humane, and ethical option to protect innocent people.”
Smith confirmed at a Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ session that the concept had not progressed into the “product” stage.
“A remotely operated non-lethal TASER-enabled drone in schools is an idea, not a product, and it’s a long way off. We have a lot of work and exploring to see if this technology is even viable and to understand if the public concerns can be adequately addressed before moving forward,” Smith continued in a blog post.
Critics, however, argued that the flying tasers could do more harm than good and end up hurting the public, most especially children in schools.
The backlash has forced the project to come to a standstill, with Smith later admitting that “our passion for finding new solutions to stop mass shootings led us to move quickly to share our ideas.”
“We value the feedback we received following our announcement,” Smith says. “We don’t have all the answers, but we will listen and learn so that we can fulfill our mission to protect life, together.”
