San Francisco Police Now Permitted To Deploy 'Killer Robots'

San Francisco just allowed police to use robots to kill. Nope, this is not a Black Mirror episode. On Tuesday night, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to approve a controversial policy that allows the police to deploy robots capable of lethal force.

The contentious policy essentially allows police officers to use robots to kill "when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and officers cannot subdue the threat after using alternative force options or de-escalation tactics," according to the ordinance text.

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Killer robots on the streets

While it may have passed the first stage of reckoning, the measure still requires a second vote next week, along with the mayor's approval, CNN reported.

Referring to "extraordinary circumstances," Supervisor Aaron Peskin in a meeting said that the robots may be used to kill "in a virtually unimaginable emergency" to stop someone from causing further harm.

Also read: Robots Struggle To Hold Things, So Scientists Built A Creepy Tentacle Gripper

There was disagreement in the room, too. Supervisors Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen, and Shamann Walton voted against the policy. Preston said that this tech has serious potential for misuse and "zero showing of necessity."

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Robert Rueca, a police spokesperson told the Washington post that their existing fleet of robots may be upgraded with explosive charges to "breach fortified structures" or to "contact, incapacitate, or disorient" a dangerous suspect without risking an officer's life.

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San Francisco's Police Chief Bill Scott told CNN that "these robots would be a last resort." "If we ever have to exercise that option, it either means lives, innocent lives, have already been lost, or in the balance, and this would be the only option to neutralize that person putting those lives at risk, or the person who has taken those lives," Scott added.

Also read: Thousands Of Tesla 'Humanoid Robots' To Start Working In Company's Factories

Do you think it's dangerous to arm robots? Is humanity compromising its ethics as robotic technology becomes smarter? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Boyette, C., & Sottile, Z. (2022c, December 1). San Francisco supervisors vote to allow police to use robots to kill. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/30/us/san-francisco-police-remote-control-robots/index.html

Wu, D. (2022, November 30). Can police use robots to kill? San Francisco voted yes. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/11/30/san-francisco-police-robots-kill/