( CNN ) -- Voices across the political spectrum are debating how to prevent mass shootings such as the one in Newtown , Connecticut . Familiar ideological lines are being redrawn . Some want to renew the ban on assault weapons and expand waiting periods to buy a gun . Others want to place armed guards in schools . And then there is the challenge of preventing guns from falling into the hands of the mentally ill . While the debate rages on , it 's worth thinking out of the box for a moment . What if we could design guns to be smarter and safer -- with hardware and software ? The right technology could neutralize the killing capability of an assault weapon , even in a madman 's hands . The root of the problem is that guns are `` dumb . '' Pull the trigger and they discharge bullets mindlessly , regardless of who is doing the aiming or where they are aimed . Guns should `` know '' not to fire in schools , churches , hospitals or malls . They should sense when they are being aimed at a child , or at a person when no other guns are nearby . Hardware fixes alone -- such as a ban on extended clips -- may mitigate carnage in an assault , but they will not change the risk that an event happens at all if the person holding the gun wants to harm others . Addressing that challenge with reliable precision requires a hardware and software solution . Many complex products have been transformed by safety-enhancing technology . Look at airplanes , which have layers of computer-controlled safety features to temper pilot error . Cars , increasingly , have sophisticated controls to override drivers and avoid collisions . Guns , too , can benefit from technological advances . Opinion : Take politics out of gun research . After the Newtown shooting , a number of Silicon Valley leaders signed the `` Demand a Plan '' petition for new gun laws . It is good to know how strongly they feel about tougher regulation . It would be even better if they would invest their know-how and wealth to create a new kind of gun control -- the software kind . How might this work ? Start with locational `` self-awareness . '' Guns should know where they are and if another gun is nearby . Global positioning systems can meet most of the need , refining a gun 's location to the building level , even within buildings . Control of the gun would remain in the hand of the person carrying it , but the ability to fire multiple shots in crowded areas or when no other guns are present would be limited by software that understands where the gun is being used . Guns should also be designed to sense where they are being aimed . Artificial vision and optical sensing technology can be adapted from military and medical communities . Sensory data can be used by built-in software to disable firing if the gun is pointed at a child or someone holding a child . Building software into guns need not affect gun owners ' desire to protect their homes . Trigger control software could be relaxed when the gun is at home or in a car , while other safety features stay on to prevent accidental discharges . Guns used by the police would be exempt from such controls . Finally , guns should be designed to broadcast their location when they are loaded . Police could see if high-powered assault weapons are entering or getting close to a public place . Gun owners , too , could choose to broadcast their guns ' locations publicly to increase deterrent effect . Could n't gun software be hacked ? Perhaps , but the risk can be reduced by open-sourcing code , requiring software patch downloads , and notifying gun makers or law enforcement if software is disabled . Open-sourcing code is not foolproof , but it will build a community of lawful gun owners and code writers who value safety and Second Amendment rights . Enabling two-way communication between guns and their original makers will help guns to be tracked beyond the initial sale , putting greater long-term responsibility on gun makers . Developing gun software and hardware adaptations could be hastened through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-style program . This Defense Department agency tries to solve difficult warfare challenges with cutting-edge ideas . It gave us GPS , among other things . In the private sector , rewards can be offered for specific technological achievements , such as what the X Prize Foundation has been doing . Gun makers , gun retailers , even the National Rifle Association could underwrite a similar prize . Gun software could be phased in , starting with the most lethal assault rifles . Today 's guns are componentized , creating possibilities for a vibrant aftermarket , with add-ons tested and certified by a consortium of gun makers or responsible gun owners . Technology can not end depravity or violence , but it can limit the evil a person can inflict on others . After this latest heart-wrenching massacre , enacting new laws may help us feel like we have done something . But smarter technology may actually do a lot more . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeremy Shane .
Jeremy Shane advocates changing the way guns work with `` smart '' technology . Shane : Today 's guns are `` dumb , '' and making them the same way is thoughtless . The gun industry has been trying to make these weapons smarter for years now Shane : Technologists should use their know-how to help reduce gun violence .