Read the full report: *Axon Enterprise Project ION Report* *(PDF).*

REPORT ON AXON'S PROJECT ION

Overview

In May 2022, the Axon AI Ethics Board voted 8-4 against Axon Enterprise proceeding with a pilot program of Project ION, a taser weapon that could be attached to drones or robots.

Following this vote, and just one week after the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Axon announced that it was proceeding with the development of this weapon for use in schools and other potential mass shooting sites –— a use that the Ethics Board had never evaluated.

In response, nine out of 12 members of the Board resigned. This report, authored by the resigning members of Axon’s AI Ethics Board, sets forth for the first time the Board’s reasons for voting against Axon’s Project ION.

Key Takeaways

This Axon Enterprise Project ION Report outlines the Board’s considerations of possible benefits of Project ION against grave concerns over the potential harms. These concerns include:

New details about proposed ethical guardrails. The Ethics Board developed a range of essential safeguards, which served as the basis for its deliberations over a pilot program.

An inside view of the Board’s deliberations. The report offers an inside view of the Board’s deliberations over the program.

The facts about the Board’s vote against Axon’s Project ION. The report explains in detail why a majority of the Board voted against the ION pilot program proceeding.