Axon halts plans for Taser drone as nine on ethics board resign


This photo depicts a conceptual design through a computer-generated rendering of a taser drone. Taser developer Axon says it is working to build drones armed with the electric stunning weapons that could fly in schools and ‘help prevent the next Uvalde, Sandy Hook, or Columbine’. But its own technology advisers quickly panned the idea as a dangerous fantasy. — Axon Enterprise, Inc

WASHINGTON: Axon, the company best known for developing the Taser, said on June 6 it was halting plans to develop a Taser-equipped drone after a majority of its ethics board resigned over the controversial project.

Axon’s founder and CEO Rick Smith said the company’s announcement last week – which drew a rebuke from its artificial intelligence ethics board – was intended to “initiate a conversation on this as a potential solution”. Smith said the ensuing discussion “provided us with a deeper appreciation of the complex and important considerations” around the issue.

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