How many us used to watch RoboCop? Many. Well, remember his robot voice (You are under arrest!), now imagine, trying to negotiate with that tone of voice. Hence, I very much doubt that thieves will be thrilled with this new development? And here are my reasons why. First of all, you can’t negotiate/bribe a robot, though on a positive note, it significantly lowers corruption. Secondly, you can’t outrun a robot, why? because it never tires as us human beings were created. Thirdly, being it a first, many dumb thieves will be so marveled to an extent that they will forget that they were stealing, easily get caught and arrested trying to take “selfies” with the robot police officer. Is robot policing the way of the future? Dubai is well on its way to finding out. And the first of many robot police officers is ready.
The emirate, one of seven in the UAE, is taking a technological leap of faith this week as it introduces its first robot officer to the Dubai police force. Designed by the Spanish company PAL Robotics, the specialized REEM robot stands 5 feet 6 inches high and looks like a knight in shining white plastic armor, riding in on its wheels (rather than a horse).
This is just the first step for the Dubai police department. The department aims to have 25 percent of its police force composed of robot officers by the year 2030. They are looking to make everything smart in Dubai Police. By 2030, they will have the first smart police station which won’t require human employees.
What can the robot police officer do? The prototype unveiled last year at GITEX, an annual Dubai-based electronics trade show, was basically a glorified kiosk, complete with a touch screen interface. Using an integrated tablet on the robot’s midsection, people could report crimes, submit paperwork, and pay fines for traffic violations. It’s unclear how or if the robot has been upgraded since then, though Dubai police were working with Watson, IBM’s AI system, on voice command recognition. Eventually, the department plans on using the robots as full-fledged police officers.
But does “smart,” the term the Dubai Police Department uses to describe their new robot initiative, mean better? It isn’t clear how the public will react to a robot police officer. Will people trust a robot more implicitly, assuming it won’t have the same biases human officers have? It’s also possible people might feel uncomfortable approaching a robot to report a crime, leading to underreporting.
In a nutshell, while there are questions surrounding Dubai’s implementation of its robot officer, it’s clear that other countries will be watching Dubai’s experiment closely as they weigh the pros and cons of their own robotic police force.
3 Comments
Robot as a Police!? This is going to be an amazing thing that ever happened in this world, talking of technology
I really enjoyed writing this piece, especially the introduction. I just couldn’t hold back from laughing. It’s a new development that will make “thievesrockville” tremble HAHAHA
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