San Francisco police given power to use killer robots

Officials in San Francisco have voted to give the city's police the power to use potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations. The 8-3 vote in favour of the move followed an emotionally charged two-hour debate and came despite strong objections from civil liberties and other police oversight groups in the city on the west coast of the United States. Supervisor Connie Chan, a member of the committee that forwarded the proposal to the full board, said she understood concerns over use of force but that "according to state law, we are required to approve the use of these equipments. So here we are, and it's definitely not an easy discussion." The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has said it does not have pre-armed robots and has no plans to arm robots with guns.