This is an innovation that may not go unnoticed. In response to the horrible killing of Uvalde, the famous designer of non-lethal weapons says work on a drone that would send an electric shock to a threatening individual, especially in schools. The associations for the defense of freedoms are upwind against this project.
What to do to avoid a new mass killing in the United States? After the shock represented by the tragedy of Uvalde, in Texas, the country is torn apart for the umpteenth time around the carrying of arms, between defenders of much stricter legislation, and extremists of the second amendment to the Constitution.
Axon, a company famous for having designed Taser electric pulse guns, believes that it has found THE solution to reconcile these two camps. She announced, through a press release, working on a drone… capable, like a Taser, of neutralizing a dangerous individual in less than 60 seconds by electroshock.
A stone in the pond
Axon’s product is only at the project stage: the images we present to you here are 3D models, and no characteristics (autonomy, range, power, etc.) have really been defined at this stage. Axon is in talks with various drone manufacturers and says it will choose its partner hardware later this year.
In reality, by unveiling its plans today, the company above all wishes to interfere with a bang in the debates which are currently raging across the Atlantic… and potentially inaugurate a new juicy market.
“Following these events (the Uvalde massacre, editor’s note), we find ourselves stuck in sterile debates. We need new and better solutions. For this reason, we chose to publicly engage communities and stakeholders, and develop a non-lethal remote-controlled drone system. We believe this will be a more effective, immediate, humane and ethical option to protect the innocent” details Rick Smith, co-founder and boss of Axon, in the press release.
According to Axon, the development of this drone is part of a broader strategy, which would consist, with a lot of surveillance technologies, in accelerating the interventions of the police to neutralize a dangerous shooter as quickly as possible.
This strategy includes stuffing schools with sensors and smart cameras, which would allow the drone to be directed correctly in the building where the tragedy takes place. At the same time, Axon announces that it will develop targeting algorithms that will help drone operators to “aim correctly and safely”.
“Robots should not be armed”
The announcement immediately provoked an outcry… including internally. In the wake of its press release, Axon published another, written by its ethics committee on artificial intelligence, which has only an advisory role.
In response to today’s announcement… We have included a statement from the Axon AI Ethics Advisory Board. pic.twitter.com/7FDgmImhnU
— Axon (@axon_us) June 2, 2022
However, the committee says it is completely opposed to this project, which it considers ” deeply regrettable », even… Orwellian. The committee thus recalls that according to this project, these drones could be remote-controlled by private operators, not just the police… And that the surveillance system that should be integrated into schools has never been mentioned internally.
L’Electronic Frontier Foundation, famous NGO that defends digital freedoms, also split a long press release to criticize the decision of the Taser manufacturer.
” This is a dangerous idea for many reasons. Firstly, because armed drones will gradually infiltrate the daily missions of security services. police,” the statement explained.
” We can’t say it any clearer: if the police get their hands on Taser drones, they won’t sit in a warehouse waiting for the next mass shooting. We will see them flying above protesters and in shopping streets. “.
The organization also criticizes the remote operation, which has nothing to do with the use of a Taser on a person in the immediate vicinity of a police officer. “The police will be better able to use that force if the whole process is like a video game, if it’s possible to send a discharge of several thousand volts with the press of a remote button.”
The EFF, which finally sharply criticizes the mass surveillance that would result from such a project, therefore asks that ” armed police drones never see the light of day “. Will it be enough to set Axon back? Nothing is less sure.
Axon
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