Taser-equipped drone designed to stop mass shootings put on hold
Ethical concerns over weaponised drones saw development halted
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The development of a Taser-equipped drone designed to stop mass shootings within 60 seconds has been halted due to ethical concerns surrounding the technology.
Designed by Axon, the manufacturer of Taser-branded stun guns, the drone was condemned by the company’s ethics board, who said they had “serious concerns” about weaponised drones.
Despite the pushback, the concept was made public following the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, which left 21 children and teachers dead.
Axon founder and CEO Rick Smith said he was “catastrophically disappointed” by the police response to the tragedy, and therefore decided to make the plans for the drone public.
His idea was to pre-install remotely operated non-lethal drones equipped with Taser weapons in public places in the US, to be ready for use in the event of a mass shooting.
Shortly after announcing the concept, Axon received critical feedback from people worried about drones being equipped with weapons, especially within schools.
Among those concerned about the technology were nine members of Axon’s ethics advisory panel, who withdrew from the panel following the announcement.
“Axon’s decision to announce publicly that it is proceeding with developing Taser-equipped drones and robots to be embedded in schools, and operated by someone other than police, gives us considerable pause,” the ethics advisory board wrote in a joint statement.
“We unanimously are concerned with the process Axon has employed regarding this idea of drones in school classrooms.”
In a blog post this week, Axon CEO Rick Smith said the company would pause the program in response to the backlash.
“I acknowledge that our passion for finding new solutions to stop mass shootings led us to move quickly to share our ideas,” Mr Smith wrote in the post.
“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.
“We don’t have all the answers, but we will listen and learn so that we can fulfill our mission to protect life, together.”
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