Axon Enterprise announced plans to develop taser-equipped drones for schools to prevent mass shootings, but halted the project after its AI ethics board objected and eight of twelve members resigned in protest.
Axon Enterprise, maker of tasers and police body cameras, announced in May 2024 that it was developing drones equipped with stun guns to combat mass shootings in schools. The announcement came after the Uvalde, Texas school shooting that killed 21 people. The proposed drones would be operated remotely by first responders and could fire a taser at targets up to 12 meters away. However, the company's 12-member AI ethics board had previously voted against a proposal for taser-armed police drones and strongly objected to the school drone project. Eight ethics board members resigned in protest, with member Wael Abd-Almageed leading the exodus. The board released a statement calling the school drone idea a 'notable expansion' on plans they had already rejected. Following the backlash, founder and CEO Rick Smith announced the project was on hold. Smith said he felt compelled to make the idea public after being 'catastrophically disappointed' in the police response at Uvalde, where officers waited over an hour before engaging the gunman. The company had been working on the concept since 2019, conducting internal tests and creating computer-generated mockups. Axon's stock price rose with the initial announcement, but critics called the idea 'crackpot' and 'dangerous and fantastical.'
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Inadequate regulatory frameworks and oversight mechanisms that fail to keep pace with AI development, leading to ineffective governance and the inability to manage AI risks appropriately.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Pre-deployment
Occurring before the AI is deployed