It becomes a way of further distancing the cop from the suspect. It is difficult to hit or shoot another human being. It is easier if you have a teleoperated mechanical prosthesis doing it for you. There would be a desensitization here that I’d be concerned with … We need to be careful about crossing the threshold of a new technology, especially a destructive one, without being clear on what we’re doing and why. We need to ask ourselves if we want to cross that threshold, or if the momentum is already too great, how we might divert it. There is a tendency for these predatory technologies to gain a momentum of their own.
Predictor: Moravec, Hans
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for Wired magazine, Gareth Branwyn analyzes the issues surrounding the use of machines for law enforcement. Branwyn quotes Manuel De Landa, author of “War in the Age of Intelligent Machines.” Branwyn writes: ”[De Landa’s book,] among other things, explores the tendency of military command-and-control decisions to migrate from humans to their so-called ‘smart’ machines. De Landa is concerned about the increasing use of AI and other advanced technologies designed to remove humans from the decision-making loop. Seeing many similarities between military command structures and their domestic police counterparts, De Landa is quick to shoot down the seemingly cut-and-dried ‘It’s safer for our boys in the field’ defense of a robocop future. ‘While I can see a good point in getting police out of harm’s way, there is usually a political component to these arguments. The development and deployment of a new weapons system is rarely based solely on issues of safety and human concern,’ says De Landa. Asked how this specifically applies to a case against robocops, he replies, ‘It becomes a way of further distancing the cop from the suspect. It is difficult to hit or shoot another human being. It is easier if you have a teleoperated mechanical prosthesis doing it for you. There would be a desensitization here that I’d be concerned with.’ He goes on to cite examples of municipal police departments already having too much distance from the communities they serve, such as living in a suburban belt, commuting to the inner city, and not understanding the language and culture of the people in those communities. De Landa also maintains that too often we don’t notice an encroaching new technology like this until it’s too late for an open critical assessment. ‘We need to be careful about crossing the threshold of a new technology, especially a destructive one, without being clear on what we’re doing and why. We need to ask ourselves if we want to cross that threshold, or if the momentum is already too great, how we might divert it. There is a tendency for these predatory technologies to gain a momentum of their own. It’s very distressing to me that there hasn’t been more public discussion on this.'”
Biography:Hans Moravec was a professor at Carnegie Mellon university’s Robotics Institute who caused a lot of consternation with the book “Mind Children: The Future of the Robot and Human Intelligence,” in which he predicted the rise of machines and extinction of humans. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Human-Machine Interaction
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Hard-Nosed Cops? Crime in the Age of Intelligent Machines
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.04/robot.cops_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney