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Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

missionlocal.org

11–20 of 225 posts

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#11
post #6

Isn't this just a remotely controlled gun? If we'd be talking about AI making its own decisions that's a different thing. In addition to this I feel better decisions would be made when the person holding the gun isn't threatened by his or her life.

Cops in america already shoot way too many people. Do you think giving them the ability to do that from a remote location is going to help?

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#12
post #6

Isn't this just a remotely controlled gun? If we'd be talking about AI making its own decisions that's a different thing. In addition to this I feel better decisions would be made when the person holding the gun isn't threatened by his or her life.

If you can remotely control a gun, aren't there plenty of less lethal things you can also remotely control to try to diffuse the situation or disarm the person?

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#13
post #10

Maybe I lack imagination, but it seems like if you have enough control over a situation that you can deploy a police robot instead of charging in, then you have enough control to make non-lethal force a viable option.

Exactly, officers can't really say they feared for their lives in such a scenario.

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#14
post #6

Isn't this just a remotely controlled gun? If we'd be talking about AI making its own decisions that's a different thing. In addition to this I feel better decisions would be made when the person holding the gun isn't threatened by his or her life.

Sure, it is a remotely controlled gun.

The question is: do we want to allow this? Without going all slippery slope on this debate, I don't think we've had time to think through the consequences of a precision remote-controlled gun. Of course, they didn't give us a say on selling military weaponry to police departments, so I don't think we'll have much to say in this either.

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#15
Note that under discussion is only remote controlled electromechanical devices. They are not requesting permission for autonomous killer robots. (yet)

Surprisingly, there is already precedent for this in US policing. All the way back in 2016, a gunman in Dallas was killed by police using a bomb defusal robot with remote-control explosives attached to it:

https://www.texastribune.org/2016/07/08/use-robot-kill-dalla...

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#16
post #6

Isn't this just a remotely controlled gun? If we'd be talking about AI making its own decisions that's a different thing. In addition to this I feel better decisions would be made when the person holding the gun isn't threatened by his or her life.

Cops in america already shoot way too many people. Do you think giving them the ability to do that from a remote location is going to help?

I'm not pro gun or even American, but to me it seems a lot of those shootings happen in high stress situations, not in a remotely controlled environment.

Re: Draft policy proposal would authorize SF Police to use deadly force with robots

#18
post #6

Isn't this just a remotely controlled gun? If we'd be talking about AI making its own decisions that's a different thing. In addition to this I feel better decisions would be made when the person holding the gun isn't threatened by his or her life.

Cops in america already shoot way too many people. Do you think giving them the ability to do that from a remote location is going to help?

So you think sending in humans is the better option?

- REPLYING TO BELOW -

> Why does anyone or anything need to “go in”? There are plenty of other ways to deal with these situations instead of pretending to be Seal Team Six.

Such as? Like a large magnet to pull the guns out of their hand?

Sometimes these situations will only result in shootouts, like busting a drug operation of a gang.

Then you have to go in to protect other citizens. Sending in a robot would then be safer. And it's been done before.

> Working on having less guns would be a start. In terms of "less lethal" pepper spray is usually pretty good

Sure, but that's not today, gangs currently have guns. Drug busts currently have dangers.

(note I don't agree that guns are the problem, if anything everyone should be armed)

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