Axon Wants To Make Taser Drones for Schools Despite Its Own Ethics Board's Concerns

[Nevilledog]

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Joseph Cox
@josephfcox
Motherboard spoke to Rick Smith, the CEO of Axon, after the company announced a taser-armed drone that it plans to stop mass shootings.

“If the politicians fix the gun problem, I'll shelve this thing, and we'll move on and do other stuff.”

vice.com
Axon Wants To Make Taser Drones for Schools Despite Its Own Ethics Board’s Concerns
After deadly shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the police tech company is unveiling its most dystopian project yet.
10:04 AM · Jun 3, 2022

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z34bb3/axon-wants-to-make-taser-drones-for-schools-despite-its-own-ethics-boards-concerns

Axon, the police technology company best known for selling stun guns and police body cameras, has announced its latest project in the wake of a series of deadly mass shootings: a drone equipped with a stun gun and a surveillance system.

In a press release, the company stated that the system is “part of a long-term plan to stop mass shootings,” and claimed that it would be capable of incapacitating an active shooter in 60 seconds.

“This network of cameras, with human and AI monitoring, together with panic buttons and other local communication tools, can detect and ID a threat before a shot is fired and dramatically improve response times and situational awareness,” Axon wrote in the release.

The company’s announcement links to a disturbing graphic novel written in 2019 by Axon CEO and founder Rick Smith, which takes place in the year 2029 and depicts a man named Randolph walking into a day care center armed with an AK-47 rifle. After Randolph shoots out the building’s glass windows, an AI-powered gunshot detection system automatically activates a quadcopter drone equipped with a taser, and takes the assailant down. The comic goes on to state that "killing is a technology problem. We Kill because we don't have the right technology to stop a threat without taking a life."

*snip*

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. Assuming it can proven to actually work reliably

... I'm not convinced it's a terrible idea.

Also outside of protecting schools it could be quite useful. Probably a lot of police shootings could be avoided if the cops could send in a taser-equipped drone instead of going in, guns blazing.