Freedom vs. Safety: Axon CEO Rick Smith on the Future of Policing

The Genesis of Taser [00:00:00]

• Rick Smith founded the company, originally called Taser, in the early 1990s.
• The idea stemmed from concerns about gun violence and a desire for less lethal alternatives.
• Smith discovered the original taser device invented in the 1970s and partnered with the inventor.

  "And the simple insight was if we had Captain Kirk's phaser, like people would choose not to kill other people because they'd have a more civilized way to stop somebody who's threatening them."

Early Struggles and Pivots [00:03:00]

• The company's initial market was consumers, but it struggled to gain traction.
• Feedback from consumers suggested police adoption would validate the product.
• After seven years of failure, the company pivoted to the police market in late 1999.

  "So our theory was if we made this new taser weapon using compressed air instead of gunpowder, it would not be a firearm. And then people like my mom could go buy it to defend herself."

Near Bankruptcy and Crucial Funding [00:07:00]

• The company faced significant financial distress, with two failed product launches.
• Smith's father and a friend provided the last $1 million to keep the company afloat.
• This funding allowed for the design, manufacture, and launch of the police taser.

  "My dad looked at me and he said, Well, you know, it would have been nice to figure that out a couple years ago because we owe Silicon Valley Bank about $2 million."

Going Public Amidst a Market Crash [00:10:00]

• Axon went public in late 2001, coinciding with the dot-com bubble burst.
• The company's physical product and real revenue made it attractive to investment banks seeking deals.
• The IPO provided crucial capital and a significant valuation for the company.

  "And in late 2000, an investment bank came to one of our training events. And they basically were like, Oh, my gosh, you're not Internet. You guys make a physical product."

The SEC Investigation and Its Aftermath [00:12:00]

• In late 2004, Axon faced an SEC investigation over allegations of lying about product safety.
• This led to a significant drop in stock price and a halt in police purchases.
• Smith personally engaged with the SEC to expedite the investigation.

  "There were allegations we'd lied about the safety of our products in order to pump up the stock price."

Surviving Litigation [00:15:00]

• The company faced hundreds of lawsuits from shareholders and plaintiffs.
• Axon aggressively defended itself, often against its own insurance company's desire to settle.
• This strategy, while risky, eventually led to zero litigation cases.

  "We should have gone under like we should not have survived. It was only by pure grit and frankly, a little bit of craziness."

The Birth of Body Cameras [00:19:00]

• Axon developed body cameras as a way to defend itself and its customers (police officers).
• The idea was to record interactions to provide objective evidence.
• Initially, police officers were hesitant to wear them, fearing increased scrutiny.

  "And I remember the police officers telling me as we're watching the trial, the family kept putting up pictures of his high school graduation. And the officers looked at me and they said, That's not the human being I saw the night I went to that house."

The Ferguson Turning Point [00:22:00]

• The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, was a catalyst for body camera adoption.
• Both the victim's family and the police union called for body cameras.
• This event validated the need for objective recording of police-citizen interactions.

  "The moment that things flipped was the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri."

Betting on the Cloud [00:24:00]

• Axon's bet on cloud infrastructure was crucial for scaling the body camera business.
• This allowed for secure storage and management of vast amounts of video data.
• The cloud provided a safer and more scalable solution than on-premise servers.

  "And that's where our bet on the cloud made a big sense."

The Taser to Axon Rebrand [00:27:00]

• Hadi Partovi, a board member, pushed for the name change from Taser to Axon.
• The goal was to reflect the company's broader mission beyond just tasers.
• The rebrand allowed the company to be seen as a comprehensive public safety solutions provider.

  "And, and, and, and, and Hadi also is the guy who pushed for us to change the name from Taser to something else, which became Axon."

Expanding into Drones and AI [00:29:00]

• Axon partnered with Skydio, investing in drone technology for public safety.
• Drones can be deployed rapidly to scenes, providing real-time situational awareness.
• The company is exploring the use of non-lethal weapons on drones and robots.

  "So if you don't know Skydio, they're the guys who build these robotic autonomous docks where a drone can now be flown from off a fire station anywhere in a city and you can have a drone on scene in a matter of seconds."

Ethical Debates and Safeguards [00:33:00]

• Axon faces ongoing ethical debates regarding surveillance technology and AI.
• The company emphasizes building safeguards and multi-key authorization processes.
• The goal is to create the least abusable technology in policing history.

  "We're actually going to be building the least abusable technology in the history of policing."

The Future of Policing [00:38:00]

• Smith believes policing will remain a human job, with technology augmenting human capabilities.
• Humanoid robots and advanced drones are expected to play a larger role.
• The focus is on deterring crime through a high probability of getting caught.

  "I would say policing is still fundamentally a human job. I would say that any decisions about using force on another person will be made by humans."

Addressing Public Sentiment [00:42:00]

• Concerns about a surveillance state and privacy intrusion are acknowledged.
• Axon aims to find a balance between public safety and individual liberties.
• The company believes rational safeguards and public policy can address these concerns.

  "However, I think there's got to be some nuance here. We can't go back to United States as it existed in the 1950s when there weren't cameras everywhere."

The Taser Drone Controversy [00:45:00]

• Axon's AI ethics board resigned over the development of a taser-equipped surveillance drone.
• The company continues R&D on the project, believing non-lethal drones offer a better alternative to gunfights.
• Axon reconstituted its ethics board with more diverse voices.

  "And that's that's why they quit. That was look, life can be challenging at times. I was very disappointed."

The Role of Police in Society [00:50:00]

• Smith argues that defunding the police would have catastrophic consequences.
• He emphasizes the police force as the glue that holds society together.
• Technology can help deter crime and maintain order during societal transitions.

  "If you actually defund the police, you know, we will get some social experiments. I can tell you, you don't need an experiment to show what would happen. It will be catastrophic."