Law enforcement has used robots to investigate suspicious packages. Now, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a policy proposal that would allow SFPD's robots to use deadly force against a suspect. Law enforcement has used robots to investigate suspicious packages. Now, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a policy proposal that would allow SFPD's robots to use deadly force against a suspect. Should robots working alongside law enforcement be used to deploy deadly force?

San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins provides update on the assault on Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi in press conference. San Francisco authorities have proposed a policy that would allow its military-style robots to use deadly force in situations where someone's life is in danger and other dangerous instances. A draft policy by the San Francisco Police Department outlines how it would use its 17 remote-controlled, unmanned robots, which are often used to defuse bombs and deal with hazardous materials. "The robots listed in this section shall not be utilized outside of training and simulations, criminal apprehensions, critical incidents, exigent circumstances, executing a warrant or during suspicious device assessment," the draft states. "Robots will only be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD."

Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days. In the popular media, regular cyber systems seem almost passe, as writers focus on AI and conjure up images of everything from real-life Terminator robots to more benign companions. In intelligence circles, China's uses of closed-circuit television, facial recognition technology, and other monitoring systems suggest the arrival of Big Brother--if not quite in 1984, then only about forty years later. At the Pentagon, legions of officers and analysts talk about the AI race with China, often with foreboding admonitions that the United States cannot afford to be second in class in this emerging realm of technology. In policy circles, people wonder about the ethics of AI--such as whether we can really delegate to robots the ability to use lethal force against America's enemies, however bad they may be.

Imagine this scenario: A terror suspect is holding hostages in a public space. A police-operated drone with a camera swoops in to assess the situation and determines he is armed and dangerous.