NYC Mayor Adams, NYPD reintroduce robotic dogs despite previous backlash, security concerns

The New York Police Department is reenlisting robots to fight crime, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday. The NYPD experimented with robot policing in 2021, but faced considerable backlash from residents and activists concerned with profiling in minority and underprivileged communities as well as saying the technology is dystopian. "The prior administration didn't have a mayor that was a computer geek and that was willing to go where others are not willing to go to keep the city safe," the New York mayor said in a press conference Tuesday in Times Square. "I made it clear on the campaign trail, I am going to use technology with transparency to keep this city safe. And others just weren't willing to do that, and I am." "The prior administration didn't have a mayor that was a computer geek and that was willing to go where others are not willing to go to keep the city safe."