<center> https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/08/07/08/46/city-2601562_1280.jpg</center> 

Taser International, a company that's known for making <b>eponymous electric stun guns</b> that are used by the police around the country, last year announced that they were going to change their name to Axon. Along with their move to change their name, the hope was that it could help them to position themselves as a dominant player in the <b>body camera market</b> for police in the nation. 

## Last year, they announced their initiative to see <b>every police officer in the country</b> outfitted with one of their cameras. 
<center> </center> And they offered to give those cameras for free, on a 1-year trial basis, with the hope that they would eventually sign-up for software subscriptions. 

The <b>Chief Executive Officer</b> for Axon, Rick Smith, had previously mentioned that the earlier name used (Taser) had been limiting for the brand because it associated the company with weapons. Now with the Axon name change, they feel it better helps to market their other products such as their software for managing video and their cameras. 

<center> https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/07/13/10/22/technology-2500010_1280.jpg </center>

For the police departments that go with the free trial, they would also be receiving special training, as well as a storage subscription for the one year. The trial is <b>estimated to be worth roughly $1700</b> for the year. You can now find many different departments around the country where police have been outfitted with body cameras.

## Now, Axon is also going to be looking to investigate the *risks and benefits of facial recognition*. 
<center> </center> They have announced that they've already established <b>an ethics board</b> to help them guide their work into this AI space. Regardless, their announcement has still been criticized by civil rights advocates. Other legal experts have suggested that perhaps it isn't a wise idea to have officers equipped with cameras that are identifying people in real time on the street, when those cameras can <b>make mistakes</b> and wrongfully identify people. This could result in even more harm being caused and more people unjustly suffering. 

Over 30 different civil rights groups have written a letter, urging the company to agree that <b>certain products are unethical to deploy</b>, and that <b>all digital technologies will require a thorough ethical review</b>, among other suggestions. 

What could be used as a tool to help foster transparency with law enforcement, can also be used to further strengthen an unjust surveillance system that is aimed against the people. 

<center> </center> Despite the increasing use of body cameras with police around the country, many legal experts and civil liberties advocates etc, have suggested that there still aren't adequate policies in place governing the use of that technology and the footage that's collected, how it's used etc. And regardless of their widespread use, some reports have suggested that they have <b>little effect on the behavior</b> of police and that they've simply been helping to uncover more wrongdoing. 

Other reports suggest opposite, *that some communities have seen a decline in complaint reports* for example, after the cameras started to be worn. However, even if they do neglect to influence officers to behave in a more professional manner, the footage from these cameras has proven to be helpful in many different circumstances to uncover incidents of corruption and wrongdoing. 

According to the Director of AI and Machine Learning for Axon, they aren't working specifically on <b>facial recognition for body cameras</b> at this time. Although, they do admit that they see the value in that and they insist that they've formed their ethics board to help guide and balance their efforts in seeking to <b>deploy this technology.</b>
 

Pics:
Pixabay

Sources:
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/science-and-tech/body-cam-maker-to-study-facial-recognition-risks-and-benefits
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/axon-s-police-body-cams-could-be-getting-ai-upgrade-n869071
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taser/taser-changes-name-to-axon-in-shift-to-software-services-idUSKBN177265
https://www.wired.com/2017/04/tasers-free-body-cameras-good-cops-not-people/
https://steemit.com/news/@doitvoluntarily/police-upset-over-leaked-footage-of-assault-on-jaywalker
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/police-body-camera-study.html
https://steemit.com/government/@doitvoluntarily/body-cam-footage-shows-officer-willing-to-lie-to-cover-up-an-illegal-search
https://www.fastcompany.com/40402050/taser-axon-police-body-cameras-video-evidence-data
https://theintercept.com/2017/09/21/taser-wants-to-build-an-army-of-smartphone-informants/

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