Lethal Robots Authorized in San Francisco
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on Wednesday to allow police in the city to kill criminal suspects with teleoperated robots if they believe there is an imminent threat of death to officers or members of the public.
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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on Wednesday to allow police in the city to kill criminal suspects with teleoperated robots if they believe there is an imminent threat of death to officers or members of the public, Khari Johnson reports for WIRED. One supervisor who voted against the measure, Hillary Ronen, warned that the policy would normalize the use: “The tool begs to be used. It might be used originally only occasionally, but over time people get less sensitive.” Other critics argued that the knowledge that robots used for other police operations could be armed may undermine suspect and hostage negotiations.
San Francisco assistant police chief David Lazar pointed toward the makeshift fatal-force robot used after a 2016 shooting in Dallas, Texas that killed five police officers and injured nine as an example use case for the technology. During a standoff with the suspect at a community college, police used a bomb strapped to a bomb disposal robot to kill the shooter. San Francisco police chiefs will have to authorize deadly force involving a robot and are required to first consider de-escalation or alternatives.
