Robots will not be doing any killing in San Francisco after all.
At least, not robots belonging to the city’s police department. At least, not for now.
A week after the left-wing city’s Board of Supervisors voted eight-to-three to allow San Francisco police to arm human-controlled robots with explosives to kill or incapacitate people in extreme circumstances, the board members unanimously walked it back on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. In the wake of fierce pushback and national headlines over the policy, the board agreed to prohibit the police from using robots in a lethal manner.
Instead, the board sent the issue back to a committee for further discussion, the AP reported.
“The people of San Francisco have spoken loud and clear: There is no place for killer police robots in our city,” Supervisor Dean Preston said in a prepared statement after the vote. “We should be working on ways to decrease the use of force by local law enforcement, not giving them new tools to kill people.”
Opponents of the killer-robots policy protested outside City Hall on Monday, chanting and holding signs with messages like, “We all saw that movie … No Killer Robots,” the AP reported.
According to the policy approved last week, only a limited number high-ranking officers would have been authorized to use robots as a deadly-force option, and only “when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers” was imminent “and outweigh other force options available to SFPD.” Police said they had no intention of arming robots with firearms, but under the policy they could have equipped the robots with explosives “to contact, incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspects.”
The San Francisco Police Department has a dozen functioning robots that are typically used to assess suspected bombs, execute warrants, function in hazmat situations, and provide officers the ability to see in low-visibility situations. For over a decade, the department had the ability to use its robots to deliver deadly force, but never did. A new state law – California Assembly Bill 481 – now requires law enforcement agencies to get direction from their governing bodies on how they can utilize military-style equipment and weaponry, including robots.
Supporters of the killer-robot policy said police need the most advanced technology available to stop mass shootings and terrorism. Opponents said approving the use of killer robots was like something out of a science fiction movie, and a particular threat to the poor and people of color.