With AI investments, Taser could use its body camera division for predictive policing

After announcing that it would shift some of its emphasis away from non-lethal weapons to police body cameras, for a fleeting moment it felt like the company synonymous with sticks that electrocute people was showing an interest in police accountability. Analysis from the Intercept and a 2017 "Law Enforcement Technology Report" by Taser suggest that the reality might be more complicated -- and considerably creepier. The company now known as Axon created its body camera division a few years ago, but ramped up efforts in 2017. After acquiring two AI companies, Dextro and Fossil Group, in February, signs point to the fact that the company wants to aim its new machine learning brainpower at policing. While the company has explicitly denied its interest in building a predictive policing engine, claiming that it "will not make predictions on behalf of our customers," the industry report makes plain reference to its desire to "automate the collection and analysis of virtually all information in public safety while extracting key insights never before possible." In a page on AI and machine learning, the report lauds the superior insight culled from massive data sets that companies in other industries leverage to predict customer behavior.