San Francisco approves using killer robots; is the US ready for the consequences?

San Francisco: The police here will now have the ability to deploy potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations after the ruling-Democratic party’s Board of Supervisors granted permission on Tuesday. City Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said SFPD will have access to seven robots “designed to neutralize dispose of bombs, and provide video reconnaissance for operators.” None of the robots will have firearms attached, but Mandelman said they could be asked to carry out deadly force in extreme situations. BBC quoted a spokesperson for the police saying that “robots could potentially be equipped with explosive charges to breach fortified structures containing violent, armed or dangerous subjects.” Notably, currently, the SFPD does not own any pre-armed robots, however, the department could deploy robots to “incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspects who pose a risk of loss of life,” SFPD spokesperson Allison Maxie said in a statement. Conditions to use ‘killer robots’

• The officers would only use robots equipped with explosives in extreme conditions.
• The measure is passed with an amendment on Tuesday specifying that officers could only use robots with deadly force after they had exhausted alternative force or de-escalation tactics or concluded they would not be able to subdue the suspect through those alternative means.
• Only a limited number of high-ranking officers could authorise its usage.

Similar type of lethal robot already in use in other parts of the US The Dallas police in Texas used a robot armed with C-4 explosives in 2016 to kill a sniper who killed two officers and left several injured. According to CNN, the Remotec Andox Mark V A-1 was manufactured by Northrup Grumman and cost US $151,000, purchased by the department in 2008. Earlier this year, the Oakland Police Department also dropped a similar proposal after public backlash. Who would be accountable for the mistakes of killer robots? Robots cannot stand trial and it is quite unlikely that a person would be legally responsible for lethal robots’ unlawful killings and human rights violations. Allowing the deployment of deadly robots in such a permissive environment would be equal to giving a “license to killing.” UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has rightly said that machines with the power to take human lives are “politically unacceptable, morally repugnant and should be prohibited by international law.” Several global leaders, including Pope Francis and Twitter owner Elon Musk, and high-profile technology companies have also warned of the risks posed by killer robots. UNESCO has also reported that in August 2017, Musk led a group of 116 AI experts to send a petition to the United Nations, calling for a total ban on the development and testing of autonomous offensive weapons. Earlier, a civil society launched a global petition urging world leaders to launch negotiations for new international laws on autonomy in weapons systems. It aimed to ensure human control in using force and to prohibit machines that target people, reducing humans to objects, stereotypes, and data points. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.