New York lawmaker wants to ban police use of armed robots:
New York City councilmember Ben Kallos says he "watched in horror" last month when city police responded to a hostage situation in the Bronx using Boston Dynamics' Digidog, a remotely operated robotic dog equipped with surveillance cameras. Pictures of the Digidog went viral on Twitter, in part due to their uncanny resemblance with world-ending machines in the Netflix sci-fi series Black Mirror.
Now Kallos is proposing what may be the nation's first law banning police from owning or operating robots armed with weapons.
"I don't think anyone was anticipating that they'd actually be used by the NYPD right now," Kallos says. "I have no problem with using a robot to defuse a bomb, but it has to be the right use of a tool and the right type of circumstance."
Kallos' bill would not ban unarmed utility robots like the Digidog, only weaponized robots. But robotics experts and ethicists say he has tapped into concerns about the increasing militarization of police: their increasing access to sophisticated robots through private vendors and a controversial military equipment pipeline. Police in Massachusetts and Hawaii are testing the Digidog as well.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday March 22 2021, @02:05PM (19 children)
Given how untrustworthy and bad acting *some* police seem to be, it is probably a good idea to keep police from having armed robots. Look at the results of some departments having surplus military gear.
Let's keep armed robots in the hands of the federal government to keep us all safe.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Monday March 22 2021, @02:41PM (2 children)
It's nice to see someone's keeping an eye on the NYPD but I will remind you all we just got our feel-good story about the NYPD's robot dog. 🙄
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mhajicek on Monday March 22 2021, @04:42PM (1 child)
They forgot to bring a drop gun?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 24 2021, @05:00AM
This happens. Usually you keep it in your other sock. First sock is for your spare. Of course once you have kids/dogs in the house, some days you end up with just one sock instead of two.
Anyway, with advent of 3d printing, you can just make an untracable dropgun. Just make sure to get the story straight about it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday March 22 2021, @03:38PM (13 children)
Eh, I agree that the cops should not be militarized. That is not their purpose. They're thief-takers not our lords and masters. Under no circumstances should they ever be better armed than the citizenry is (as opposed to how well armed the citizenry could be if it so chose).
I do not agree that the government should ever be allowed weapons its citizens aren't though. If the feds want a Terminator, I want the option of having one as well. Without having to ask permission.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday March 22 2021, @04:06PM (5 children)
Police should not be militarized. They are to "police" (verb). They are (supposed to be) held accountable to their communities.
The government needs to have weapons that can defeat other governments. I don't think any citizens need nukes for any legitimate purpose. At least in the US, the government is supposed to (in principle) be accountable to the people. Afraid of their vote.
It would be good if everyone in government, and the citizens were (1) good actors, (2) well intentioned, (3) reasonably well educated. That would fundamentally solve a lot of problems.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday March 23 2021, @01:23PM (4 children)
They're, by absolutely specific design of the founders of this nation, also supposed to be afraid of us putting them against a wall and executing them.
It would be nice if even a single citizen could manage two out of three most days. But humans just can't do that without really working at it every single day. Many rarely even try; a whole lot of virtue you see is an illusion built on lack of opportunity to be otherwise. Which is why a means to deal with things when they get too out of control was explicitly removed from the province of government control via the second amendment.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday March 23 2021, @02:04PM (3 children)
Any rational human would be afraid of that.
But it is not what the founders intended. They gave you democracy. A vote. Your vote is your voice. Use it. If you don't like your candidates, then become one yourself. If you don't like the outcome of an election, that is how democracy is supposed to work. Not everyone who votes gets the election outcome they wanted.
As I've said before, I don't mind if stable rational people have firearms. But people who think firearms (or any kind of violence) is the first answer to any kind of problem, insult, or slight, are definitely not what I consider stable. Rather, volatile. If you think violence against our government because of an election you don't like is the right answer, then I don't consider that patriotic. Rather the opposite. Throughout all human history people have had to get along with one another. People who live in densely populated areas seem to understand this somewhat better. If you really cannot abide the rules of a peaceful democracy but would rather stir up violence for the minority to rule over the majority, maybe you should shop around for other countries that have a form of government more to your liking. Despite all of it's many, many and varied problems, our democracy still works -- despite the efforts of some who would threaten to upend it.
I don't know what else to say. You keep saying that and I keep answering it exactly the same way. I tried to be more clear this time while being polite.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday March 24 2021, @12:53PM (1 child)
The absolute hell it's not. Read their correspondence while the constitution and amendments were being written. It is without question precisely what they intended and had in fact just finished doing.
It has nothing to do with not liking the result. You keep going back to that and it keeps being utterly irrelevant. It has to do with not believing the result. Not being angry that people voted for someone you dislike. Disbelieving that the stated results are what people voted for.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday March 24 2021, @02:26PM
There are many more people, and judges, courts, who believe the election was fairly won. So does their believe not count? Only yours counts?
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 24 2021, @08:16PM
Or surplus tank ownership post-WW2.
While there has been deterrence against ready made military grade equipment since the advent of rapid loading/self loading weaponry, the original goal was to allow civilians to own military grade weaponry of the era, under the assumption no one man could start a war, but if enough of them chose to, they could successfully rebel, much as their forefathers had. Where the problems came in was first the disarmament of unfavorable groups (blacks, native americans, etc.. particularly cheeky in the case of native americans since many of those guns had been used in trades to gain territory from them!) followed later by the realization of the threat a few disgruntled civilians with increasingly rapid firing, rapidly reloading, highly accurate and long distance weapons could cause to the 'stability' of the established powers and their citizenry, who might choose to rebel also when they realized the tides of power were changing and they could regain more for themselves.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @04:40PM (1 child)
Hopefully for you your personal Terminator has better upgrades than the one used to rob your house.
(Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday March 23 2021, @01:24PM
If it doesn't, it's nobody's fault but my own.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @05:12PM (4 children)
Exoskeletons are getting cheap. Put one on, lots of armor on top, and as many guns and ammo as you can carry.
(Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Monday March 22 2021, @05:23PM (3 children)
But you have a right to keep bare arms. But if you put on an exoskeleton, your arms are no longer bare.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @05:41PM
At that point, you can no longer be stopped.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Dr Spin on Monday March 22 2021, @06:32PM (1 child)
According to Yogi, you also have the right to arm bears.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday March 22 2021, @06:44PM
Now if bears could have exoskeletons.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 23 2021, @02:13AM (1 child)
If these machines work right, they will only go after those who commit crimes. Who commits most crimes? Therefore: machines are racist.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 23 2021, @04:45AM
We need to sue the companies that made the machines. Get rid of the machines, and you eliminate crime.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @03:08PM (6 children)
If they outlaw the use of armed robots by police, only outlaw police will have armed robots.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday March 22 2021, @04:07PM
You have a good point. Therefore all police departments need to have killer robots just in case any other police departments use killer robots to kill anyone.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by DrkShadow on Monday March 22 2021, @05:08PM (4 children)
Sigh.
The difference here is: cop houses will actually _not_ acquire armed robots if it's deemed illegal. By outlawing guns for the population, there is a non-trivial subset of the population that _will_ still arm themselves with guns. When outlawing armed robots for cops, there _is not_ a subset of the cops that will have armed robots.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @05:14PM
You do realize a certain segment of our population is being shouted at every day by their news channels that new enemies on the horizon coming to take their shit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @07:11PM
>> When outlawing armed robots for cops, there _is not_ a subset of the cops that will have armed robots.
You obviously haven't met many cops.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @11:05PM (1 child)
... because every cop always obeys every law to the letter.
FTFY
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 23 2021, @03:25AM
Just like every perp.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday March 22 2021, @03:15PM (3 children)
First, the come for the Police, then they come for the Military, then you have a megalomaniacal AI that locks all up for our own good. Then, one rogue bot and Will Smith save us all.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday March 22 2021, @04:08PM (2 children)
The robots don't want to kill all humans, they just want to take our jobs.
The server will be down for replacement of vacuum tubes, belts, worn parts and lubrication of gears and bearings.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday March 22 2021, @08:21PM
I don't know why they can't work side-by-side with the existing New York police force. Seems like they would integrate nicely [youtu.be].
(Score: 3, Funny) by gawdonblue on Monday March 22 2021, @08:52PM
And our women.
I'll give them my woman when they pry her from my cold, dead hands.
(at least that's how she describes them)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @03:15PM (4 children)
Was it in Dallas a few years ago, where the police used an explosives disarming robot to deliver a grenade to a criminal?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @03:19PM
Everyone liked that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @03:54PM (1 child)
C.O.D.?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @04:10PM
They had to send the cash to the Treasury for reassembly afterwards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @03:57PM
With a S.W.A.T. team of midgets inside.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @04:05PM (1 child)
In my neck of the woods, we criminal masterminds have to contend with rogue pimpbots.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Tork on Monday March 22 2021, @04:42PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by EJ on Monday March 22 2021, @06:30PM (4 children)
How useful, really, is a robot without arms?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @06:55PM
The robot dog being marketed to police doesn't have arms, but it does have a head-cam. Naturally the police would like to replace the camera with a gun so it can shoot "criminals" off the record.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Monday March 22 2021, @06:55PM (2 children)
Some Boston Dynamics quadruped robots have a robot arm as an extra feature, except it looks more like a giraffe neck + head than an arm. I believe there are videos out there of the dog using the arm to open doors. When I worked for Boston Dynamics, we used to write programs to have the robots hit our coworkers in the nads with its robot arm. I would give you the code but we had to delete it after Boston Dynamics had just their first Black person, one mean muthafucka sho' 'nuff. He was also trans, so that's tacking on hate-crime charges as well. He used to come in wearing miniskirts, but one of his legs always looked buffer than the other because he had to choose which side of his nylons he had to stuff his cock down. It was usually his left side, but every once in awhile he would miss his alarm clock and come to work with it stuffed down the right, accompanied with facial stubble.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 22 2021, @08:01PM
They could always challenge the perp to a dance off.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Monday March 22 2021, @09:29PM
Pro-tip: When making stories up don't put yourself in the shoes of the person your story doesn't include you talking to. It's tempting because you're searching for details that fill your narrative, but when done wrong questions arise about your knowledge of things like anatomy or how/why you'd give someone code to a proprietary robot they couldn't possibly execute if not for that derned stereotype hadn't mcguffin'd it away from you. 🤡
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈