New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio has ordered a controversial robotic dog undergoing trials with the city’s police off the street, and a $94,200 contract with creator Boston Dynamics cancelled.
The robot canine, named “Digidog”, is to be returned to its manufacturer following outrage tied to calls to cut police funding and law enforcement access to military-developed or surplus hardware.
De Blasio voiced that he is “glad the Digidog was put down”. A city government spokesperson added: “It’s creepy, alienating, and sends the wrong message to New Yorkers.”
The 70lb robot could run at three and a half miles per hour and climb stairs. It was primarily intended to go into situations deemed dangerous for officers, and had been undergoing trials in the Bronx since it was unveiled last December.
“This dog is going to save lives, protect people, and protect officers, and that’s our goal,” a police spokesman said at the time. Officials later said that the robot’s purpose was to take police officers out of harm’s way.
But the dog sparked an immediate backlash, with critics noting police dogs have been traditionally used to suppress and intimidate communities of color. Some critics also pointed out it was reminiscent of robot dogs in the dystopian Netflix series Black Mirror.
“Shout out to everyone who fought against community advocates who demanded these resources go to investments like school counseling instead,” said congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.
“Now robotic surveillance ground drones are being deployed for testing on low-income communities of color with under resourced schools.”
Akin Olla, host of This is the Revolution podcast, wrote in the Guardian last month that “there is more than enough evidence that law enforcement is lethally racially biased, and adding an intimidating non-human layer to it seems cruel.”
New York dog put to sleep
New York dog put to sleep
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
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Bicycle Bill
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Re: New York dog put to sleep
Yes, I suppose I could agree with you ... but then we'd both be wrong, wouldn't we?
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MajGenl.Meade
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Re: New York dog put to sleep
Yes, a big shout to all those who defeated those community advocates who wanted to waste money on schools etc.
K9 says:
"Arf! You'd think Occasional-Cortex would have learned English by now".
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts
