Report on Axon's Project ION

In 2021, Axon Enterprise informed its independent AI Ethics Board about Project ION, a proposed Taser weapon for drones and other robots. 

After much deliberation, the Ethics Board, which was chaired by Policing Project faculty director Barry Friedman and staffed by the Policing Project, voted against Axon proceeding with the technology.  

However, a week after the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Axon announced its plans to develop ION for use in schools and other potential mass shooting sites. This use for ION had never been evaluated by the Ethics Board. In response to Axon’s announcement, nine of the twelve members of the Board resigned.  

The Policing Project, in collaboration with former Ethics Board members, released a report offering an inside view of the Board’s deliberations over the proposal. It outlines the Board’s view of the possible benefits of ION, and the Board’s grave concerns about potential harms. These concerns included the potential for misuse or abuse, the possibility that the technology might increase the use of force rates, operational risks such as mechanical failures or operator error, and the disproportionate deployment of the technology in Black, brown, and other marginalized communities. The report also explains why the Board ultimately voted against the proposal, including concerns about the failure of policing agencies to hold bad actors accountable and the limits of Axon’s ability to know and thoroughly vet the individuals operating ION.