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Robots Are Being Used To Shoo Away Homeless People In San Francisco (qz.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Quartz: San Francisco's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has been ordered by the city to stop using a robot to patrol the sidewalks outside its office, the San Francisco Business Times reported Dec. 8. The robot, produced by Silicon Valley startup Knightscope, was used to ensure that homeless people didn't set up camps outside of the nonprofit's office. It autonomously patrols a set area using a combination of Lidar and other sensors, and can alert security services of potentially criminal activity.
In a particularly dystopian move, it seems that the San Francisco SPCA adorned the robot it was renting with stickers of cute kittens and puppies, according to Business Insider, as it was used to shoo away the homeless from near its office. San Francisco recently voted to cut down on the number of robots that roam the streets of the city, which has seen an influx of small delivery robots in recent years. The city said it would issue the SPCA a fine of $1,000 per day for illegally operating on a public right-of-way if it continued to use the security robot outside its premises, the San Francisco Business Times said.
In a particularly dystopian move, it seems that the San Francisco SPCA adorned the robot it was renting with stickers of cute kittens and puppies, according to Business Insider, as it was used to shoo away the homeless from near its office. San Francisco recently voted to cut down on the number of robots that roam the streets of the city, which has seen an influx of small delivery robots in recent years. The city said it would issue the SPCA a fine of $1,000 per day for illegally operating on a public right-of-way if it continued to use the security robot outside its premises, the San Francisco Business Times said.
Have your way with me mods, I've got karma to burn!
The homeless population in San Fran is a massive problem. I've had my car's window smashed three times over the course of four years for trivial crap i've left in my car. Seriously, they really think that my FM transmitter and 75 cents are worth something? And this is in Portrero FFS.
You consistently see these animals constantly shooting up, leaving needles everywhere, pissing in the street, and hassling you for money. They're a blight and the city's permissive attitude towards them only encourages more to show up.
It's time we stop wasting money on these animals when they OD with Naloxone. If they want to drug themselves to the point of death, let them. It's time we let Darwin do his work.
Zap them, beat them, lock them up and forcibly detox them from whatever drug they love, I don't care. It's high time vagrancy is treated the same way the homeless treat our communities, with reckless abandonment.
In what way does fighting in Afghanistan give us freedom?
Initially it would have been to go after Osama Bin Laden, the guy who planned the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
However, when, for two days, Bush refused every single request by troops on the ground for more troops to block Bin Laden's escape from Tora Bora because troops weren't available as he was preparing to invade Iraq, that issue went by the wayside.
Maybe, just maybe people are being diagnosed with a mental illness when previously the prevailing attitude was 'suck it up;. Previous veterans had to get on with their lives with their own resources, plenty of WW2 veterans topped themselves. Remember back in WW1 shell shock was initially attributed to LMF (lack of moral fibre). Attitudes have changed since then.
New Zealanders are well balanced with a chip on each shoulder. One represents Australia, the other the rest of the world
Among extensive debates with a young-ish Japanese Senpai about WWII, we last concluded that even though I did not know a single person that suffers serious injury (mental and physical) that's supposed to have been ravaged by Japanese Army, sample of our experiences are inaccurate, as broken people are not likely to get married, reproduce, and generally savagely maimed victims don't survive for 4 decades for me to meet in my 1980s childhood. (He acknowledged that he himself had an uncle that was broken after returning from WII, and only faintly remembered said uncle as a NEET that was propped up by rich family, drink himself silly and do nothing but laze around in his home and lived just a little past 60 years.)
And that also sums up most people's experiences with their WWII veteran Dad and Granddad - people that's well adjusted enough to go back to live a happy/productive life or at least raise a family of course are not a fair sample to gauge PTSD. I don't know much about homeless vet situation in 1950s, but real broken ones probably landed up in a mental institution by 1950 or succumb to alchoholism and most probably die childless at their 50s/ 60s.
Talk to WWII veteran that still maintained vitality to talk about his experience at 93, Year 2017? Of course youngsters will have an impression that every single one of them WWII is tough as rock.