Deadly police robots are a dangerous idea, says San Francisco city supervisor
TMZ.com
San Francisco is heading down a dangerous and slippery slope with its proposal to deploy robots capable of using lethal force...that's according to the chairman of the city's board of supervisors.
Shamann Walton joined us Friday on “TMZ Live,” and listed the ways he thinks armed police bots could backfire, and he says hacking is a huge concern.
In case you missed it, San Fran's Board of Supervisors approved the robots by an 8 to 3 vote... Shamann being one of the few naysayers. After the endorsement, he said voting against the policy didn't make him anti-cop, just pro-people of color.
Critics fear innocent POCs will be disproportionately harmed when these robots are deployed at crime scenes across the city.
To be clear, San Fran isn't talking about "Robocop" type androids - they're talking about remote-controlled machines, similar to those already used by bomb squads. The difference is that they would be armed with bullets and explosives.
Shamann says the department's reasons for using robots just don't sit well with him, and he gives several examples where they wouldn't be practical.
Supporters say the robots could be useful in mass shooting situations — like Uvalde, TX, for example — but Shamman says he, and many parents, wouldn't be comfortable sending a robot while children could be injured or killed.
The main thing for the supervisor is to... save robots and drones for military battlefields, not crowded cities filled with innocent bystanders.
TMZ.com
San Francisco is heading down a dangerous and slippery slope with its proposal to deploy robots capable of using lethal force...that's according to the chairman of the city's board of supervisors.
Shamann Walton joined us Friday on “TMZ Live,” and listed the ways he thinks armed police bots could backfire, and he says hacking is a huge concern.
In case you missed it, San Fran's Board of Supervisors approved the robots by an 8 to 3 vote... Shamann being one of the few naysayers. After the endorsement, he said voting against the policy didn't make him anti-cop, just pro-people of color.
Critics fear innocent POCs will be disproportionately harmed when these robots are deployed at crime scenes across the city.
To be clear, San Fran isn't talking about "Robocop" type androids - they're talking about remote-controlled machines, similar to those already used by bomb squads. The difference is that they would be armed with bullets and explosives.
Shamann says the department's reasons for using robots just don't sit well with him, and he gives several examples where they wouldn't be practical.
Supporters say the robots could be useful in mass shooting situations — like Uvalde, TX, for example — but Shamman says he, and many parents, wouldn't be comfortable sending a robot while children could be injured or killed.
The main thing for the supervisor is to... save robots and drones for military battlefields, not crowded cities filled with innocent bystanders.
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