As technology advances at a never-seen-before pace, robots are starting to be used to perform a wide range of tasks that are easily automated. However, law enforcement authorities in the US might be taking things up a notch.?
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) is proposing a new policy that would give robots the licence to kill.?
The new policy proposal includes guidance that lets police use robots?as a "deadly force option when the risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option.¡±
The policy also states that ¡°only assigned operators who have completed the required training shall be permitted to operate the robots.¡±??
Earlier, the local lawmakers had attempted to include guidance that robots would not be deployed to kill people. "Robots shall not be used as a means of force against any person," the original guidance read.??
However, the SFPD has removed that wording in a subsequent draft and instead replaced it with guidance that allows for the use of killer robots.? ?
If the draft policy is passed, the robots could be used during arrests, critical incidents, the execution of a warrant, and ¡°suspicious device assessments."
The rules committee that reviewed the proposal voted to send it to the Board of Supervisors to consider at a meeting next week.
The San Francisco Police Department?currently has 17 remotely piloted robots, but only 12 are functioning.?
While most of the robots listed in the SFPD¡¯s inventory are primarily used for defusing bombs or dealing with hazardous materials, the new?Remotec models?have an optional weapons system, and the department¡¯s existing F5A has a tool called the PAN disruptor that can load 12-gauge shotgun shells.??
While San Francisco has never explicitly allowed for robots to take human lives, lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are increasingly common in modern warfare.?The Dallas police department?used a robot to?kill a suspect in 2016, accused of killing five cops in a shooting.??
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