According to Neowin, axon enterprise, the manufacturer of Taser guns, is stopping its project to equip UAVs with electric shock guns to combat mass shootings** This decision was made after most of the members of its artificial intelligence ethics committee resigned.
On May 24, a large-scale school shooting occurred at a primary school in uwald, Texas, USA, resulting in the deaths of 19 children and two teachers. This prompted axon to announce that it was working on a UAV that could be remotely operated by emergency personnel to fire Taser guns at targets 40 feet (12 meters) away.
However, Rick Smith, CEO of axon, issued a [statement] on Sunday( https://www.axon.com/news/technology/axon-committed-to-listening-and-learning ) Say:
"Our statement is intended to initiate a dialogue on this as a potential solution. It has indeed led to considerable public discussion and deepened our understanding of the complex and important considerations related to this issue. I acknowledge that our enthusiasm for finding new solutions to prevent mass shootings led us to act quickly and share our ideas.
However, according to the feedback, we are suspending the work of this project and re focusing on further contact with key groups to fully explore the best way forward. "
Earlier, an ethics member of axon told Reuters that he and eight colleagues were resigning from the 12 member team. The ethics team collects feedback on emerging technologies and manages ethical principles before gadgets such as drones and artificial intelligence are abused.
In addition to Taser guns, axon also produces body cameras and police software for about 17000 of the approximately 18000 law enforcement agencies in the United States.
This is not the first time the company has reversed its decision. In 2019, the company said that after the ethics committee expressed concern about the plan, it would not use facial recognition software in its policy human camera.