The San Francisco police prevailed. Last week, its management had raised the possibility of arming robots and, above all, that they have the authorization to kill suspects to the city’s Surveillance Council (its legislative body).
If the request had not ceased to cause controversy, it was finally accepted by 8 votes to 3, this Tuesday, announces the Tech Crunch site. It is actually a small wording listed in the mandatory inventory of military equipment used by law enforcement that confirms this use. Between armored vehicles and submachine guns, the police department therefore has 17 robots, 12 of which are fully operational, which can now kill a suspect under certain circumstances.
“Extreme Circumstances”
These robots are not currently equipped with weapons, they are mainly used for demining missions, but an example in Dallas showed that it was easy to make it lethal. Obviously, lethal use is strictly regulated.
In particular, it noted that the robots could be equipped with explosives “to neutralize or disorient a violent, armed, or dangerous suspect.”
The militarization of robots is a major debate, even among manufacturers. In early October, several robotics companies, including Boston Dynamics, pledged not to support the use of their products for military purposes and called on other companies in the industry to do the same.
Source: BFM TV
