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It’s official—the San Francisco Police Department now has the ability to use robots to kill people. The latest step towards turning actual, everyday life in America into an episode of Black Mirror comes after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a vote with an 8-3 majority Tuesday night to allow city cops to use potentially lethal remote-controlled robots in law enforcement operations. In a statement, SFPD spokesperson Allison Maxie said the department doesn’t have any plans to arm robots with firearms, but they might use machines strapped with explosives “to contact, incapacitate, or disorient [a] violent, armed, or dangerous suspect” in life-and-death situations. “Robots equipped in this manner would only be used in extreme circumstances to save or prevent further loss of innocent lives,” Maxie added.
