San Francisco’s ruling Board of Supervisors has voted to let the city’s police use robots that can “kill”. The measure permits police to deploy robots equipped with explosives.
A spokesperson for the police said “robots could potentially be equipped with explosive charges to breach fortified structures containing violent, armed, or dangerous subjects”. They also said robots could be used to “incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspects who pose a risk of loss of life”.
Advocates for the measure said it would only be used in extreme situations. Thinking individuals who have observed current events with any manner of sobriety in recent years will all agree: this authority can and will lead to further militarization of the police force and further loss of civil liberty.
In a semi-related story, regulators with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a self-driving taxi service in San Francisco, where the autonomous taxis cars are programmed and trained to drive. They offer paid passenger services to the public with numerous all-electric fleets on some streets in the state.
Meanwhile, San Francisco launches The “Guaranteed Income for Transgender People Program or, (G.I.F.T.). Yes, You heard right: Guaranteed income for individuals who simply claim to identify as “trans”. San Francisco’s transgender guaranteed income program application provides over 130 gender, sexuality and pronoun options, and encouraging enrollees to “check all that apply.”
SOURCES:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63816454
https://www.hotcars.com/cruise-driverless-taxi-san-francisco/