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Robot Police Officer Goes On Duty In Dubai (bbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the reporting-for-duty dept.

The first robot officer has joined the Dubai Police force tasked with patrolling the city's malls and tourist attractions. "People will be able to use it to report crimes, pay fines and get information by tapping a touchscreen on its chest," reports BBC. "Data collected by the robot will also be shared with the transport and traffic authorities." From the report: The government said the aim was for 25% of the force to be robotic by 2030 but they would not replace humans. "We are not going to replace our police officers with this tool," said Brig Khalid Al Razooqi, director general of smart services at Dubai Police. "But with the number of people in Dubai increasing, we want to relocate police officers so they work in the right areas and can concentrate on providing a safe city. "Most people visit police stations or customer service, but with this tool we can reach the public 24/7. It can protect people from crime because it can broadcast what is happening right away to our command and control center."

49 comments

  1. Pay fines? by freeze128 · · Score: 1

    If the robot cop accepts payment for fines, does that mean it's a mobile ATM? How long before it's stolen?

    1. Re:Pay fines? by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      If the robot cop accepts payment for fines, does that mean it's a mobile ATM? How long before it's stolen?

      If it patrols with flesh cops, that could be difficult.

    2. Re:Pay fines? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or it only accepts fine by credit card

    3. Re: Pay fines? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's in Dubai so it only accepts fine payments made in gold.

    4. Re:Pay fines? by pinzvidz · · Score: 1

      What about bribes?

    5. Re:Pay fines? by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      BOFH VS bot.

      https://www.theregister.co.uk/...

    6. Re:Pay fines? by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      Part 1
      https://www.theregister.co.uk/...

    7. Re:Pay fines? by Ronyonte · · Score: 1

      The security system may be powerful, i guess...

  2. I notice everytime something gets automated by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Insightful

    within 3 sentences I'll read "will not replace humans" or some variations thereof. Does anyone really believe that?

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:I notice everytime something gets automated by sexconker · · Score: 2

      Does anyone believe anything a corporation or government it says it will not do?

      If public concern over X multiplied by corporate/government temptation to do X exceeds some threshold Y, then the following will happen:
        - The corporation/government will issue a statement saying they won't do X.
        - The corporation/government will quietly/gradually/eventually/flagrantly do X anyway.

      You may as well cry out "Swiper, no swiping!".

    2. Re:I notice everytime something gets automated by udachny · · Score: 1

      shit, I hope every cop gets replaced by a robot. Cops are robots already, at least a metal robot doesn't have a really good excuse to use lethal force when unnecessary.

      --
      MY OTHER COMMENTS
    3. Re:I notice everytime something gets automated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At least for now, yes. The use cases for almost all of these robot and AI systems that get circle jerked on slashdot are extremely narrow. The technology is good at automating the 50% (which admittedly will cost some jobs), but still struggle and are far from meeting the human parts of the job.

      Slashdotters like to sit on their computer and think that software development is the hardest, most complex, least automatable job ever, while everyone else's job can be "easily automated". I've found this to be the reason why the impending doom is always posted here - /.ers have no knowledge and continuously underestimate the complexities of other people's jobs. Reminds me of the thread here a month ago where everyone was cirlejerking on how "easy" it will be to have robots replace roofers. Yea, we're just a few years away from robots that can hop on a roof, take the old one off, built in AI to deal with all of the complexities associated with laying a roof on each individual structure, which requires precise vision and dexterity...

  3. Re:Part man. Part machine... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it is... the love child of Mr. Roboto and a Segway!

  4. Obligatory. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    [whirr] [chunk] [chunk]

    "No kissing your girlfriend in public, creep."

    [BLAM!]

  5. Kiosk? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a mobile kiosk. How quaint.

  6. I know where this is going. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's a good idea in concept but reality has a habit of getting in the way.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:I know where this is going. by jordanjay29 · · Score: 1

      Cop-tipping, the teenage/drunk wastrel pasttime of the 2020s.

    2. Re:I know where this is going. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unlikely to happen in UAE..

  7. The Hound? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    Ray Bradbury would be proud.

  8. Incorruptible cop by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    At least, here is the programmatically incorruptible cop.

    1. Re:Incorruptible cop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless the programming is unethical.

  9. on Duty In Dubai by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    what a concept! call my agent.

    1. Re: on Duty In Dubai by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right after "Flesh Cops"!

  10. You can say this: they will be precise. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "You have fifteen seconds to comply."

  11. Just wait until they're armed by Baron_Yam · · Score: 2

    I imagine a few robots with electrified surfaces and maybe a microwave area denial device would be considered great for crowd control in certain countries. If the power requirements could be met, put a tetanizing beam weapon on them. Just have them roll down the streets after curfew and torture anyone found outside... while also recording their faces for human follow-up. Have them 'shout' orders in a loud, slightly distorted voice to frighten people and encourage compliance.

    And from there it isn't a huge leap to adding lethal weaponry to defend the robot if dissidents are inclined to destroy them (which they will be). And then will come the robots just killing from the start.

    Imagine what a ruthless dictator could do with such devices; no worries about loyalty, no fears the machines won't fire on 'their own people' if ordered to do so. Nobody would even think of trying to argue with them - they're machines, a mindless force. Make people carry ID cards, and if you don't present them for scanning when challenged, you get tased if you move, maybe shot if you get out of taser range, to keep you around while the human thugs come to check up.

    Of course (at least for a while) stairs will be their greatest enemy. Or maybe a hat hung over the optics.

    1. Re:Just wait until they're armed by jordanjay29 · · Score: 1

      Or maybe a hat hung over the optics.

      Black spray paint, too.

    2. Re:Just wait until they're armed by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      That's funny I can imagine the number target for hackery would be robot police officers, there could be no better crime tool. A criminal device with the authority of state, inherently, wildly at risk because it must be wireless and you want to secure anything, I mean seriously secure, you do not connect it wirelessly to anything especially in a metropolitan area where hackers could be hiding anywhere. Of course hack one and you can immediately hack many and well, chaos would be an understatement.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re:Just wait until they're armed by Babel-17 · · Score: 1

      No fears about loyalty until the rebels learn how to reprogram them. And if they're networked they're open to a remote Cylon takeover. :)

  12. I'd like to say I don't understand why by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    we keep electing these yahoos but I know the answer: our entire political system was designed so they could get elected. People said the Electoral college was suppose to stop a demagogue like Trump but it's not. It's suppose to enable him. Sure, he talked scary populist rhetoric but when push came to shove he fell in line like anyone paying attention knew he would. Our entire system was designed by wealthy landowners in the 1800s to prevent democracy from taking away all the land they'd claimed for themselves.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:I'd like to say I don't understand why by chuckugly · · Score: 2

      The electoral college is supposed to give the states a voice and make the election more than a mere popularity contest; do they not teach civics at all any more? Each congressional district gets an elector, or to look at it another way, the total of electors for a state is the number of senators plus the number of house reps. It's the same reason we have a bicameral system of legislation with one house having a representation of the populace and the other giving all states an equal voice.

    2. Re:I'd like to say I don't understand why by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      The electoral college is inherently corrupt, it's sole purpose is to steal election, give a temporary faÃade of legality whilst martial law is brought into being because the corrupt establishment lost power to the people and want it back. In the case of current US election the bulk of the corruption as has been amply demonstrated occurs during the primaries when the elections are stacked with corporate stooges. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Clinton, come on one great big old organised crime gang, front players in the con, with the deep state a composite of the military industrial complex and the banking sector, together with ownership main stream media and the mass insertion of CIA agents into main stream media. All the current bullshit around trump is about destabilising the US government to prevent investigation and prosecution of the Clinton's and their crime crew.

      Robot police officers are way off from being deployable, this is just a mobile part of the panopticon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..., with the streets of your society as the prison. A suppression device so that the public can continually be spied upon and monitored. The prime reason for continual monitoring, so that any political activist, can be targeted as early as possible when the oppose the establishment.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re:I'd like to say I don't understand why by chuckugly · · Score: 1

      I hope you realize that the primaries have nothing to do with the US electoral college, and that it's been around a very long time. I hope.

    4. Re:I'd like to say I don't understand why by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      The electoral college is supposed to give the states a voice

      And when the constitution was written the states were presumed to be at worst within an order of magnitude of each other in size and population, which they no longer are. Wyoming and California are barely within two orders of magnitude.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    5. Re:I'd like to say I don't understand why by chuckugly · · Score: 1

      That sounds like an argument for rather than against to me.

  13. You have 20 seconds to comply!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ObRoboCop:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acdABwYJqks

    You have 20 seconds to comply!

  14. Ha! by The+Wild+Norseman · · Score: 1

    Ha ha ha! We beat 'em!

    They're trying to build a Robocop and we've already got a nation of ED-209's!

    USA! USA! USA!

    --
    "A government is a body of people usually -- notably -- ungoverned." -Shepherd Book
  15. EXTERRRMINATE! by osiaq · · Score: 0

    "Citizen you are superior in only one respect. You are better at dying..."

  16. Fuck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is close to the plot of Chappie, except AI is nowhere near good enough to mimic the movie.

  17. Live by rastos1 · · Score: 1

    Robot Police Officer Goes On Duty In Dubai

    So you want to say that ... it went live?

  18. "Pay fines" by Tukz · · Score: 1

    When giving money directly to an officer of the law, we call it bribes.

    --
    - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
  19. Less clickbait please by Wootery · · Score: 1

    If it doesn't have power of arrest, how is it a police officer? It's a chatbot for pete's sake.

    If you damage it, are you guilty of assaulting a police officer? My understanding is that this sort of question is the reason police dogs are considered officers.

    Not a fan of dishonest headlines.

    1. Re:Less clickbait please by Agripa · · Score: 1

      If it doesn't have power of arrest, how is it a police officer? It's a chatbot for pete's sake.

      If you damage it, are you guilty of assaulting a police officer? My understanding is that this sort of question is the reason police dogs are considered officers.

      Police dogs are considered officers for purposes of charging others but if the police dog runs amok, then it is just a dog and has absolute immunity.

  20. Where's the slot for "gratuities"? by Babel-17 · · Score: 1

    All kidding aside, there's a human element that society won't willingly abandon. Certainly not the powers the be, though they rarely directly interact with the long arm of the law. Which reminds me ... https://pjmedia.com/trending/2... https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  21. How quickly will the RoboCop be hacked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My guess is about 5 minutes.

  22. define robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Soooo it's a kiosk built to look like a robot... NEXT!

  23. 6 arrested in drug evasion ring. Film @ 11. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sorry for the clickbait title, but someone needed to throw in a THX ref.

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