Are Killer Robots Legal? San Francisco Robots Will Be Back.

I never thought this topic would come up, and I never thought that I would have to be the one discussing this. But here we are; we are about to discuss the killer robots, as well as the state of robot law.

The Killer Robots of San Francisco

So, this blog is in part started by the city of San Francisco who thought it would be a good idea to authorize deadly force for robots. In essence, they turned robots into suicide bombers which would kill humans. What did it take to authorize the departments 17 robots to go out and start killing people? The president of the United States? The Pentagon? No. Just a few people in a room together who sit on the board of supervisors.

It took a few days but public outcry has led to the allowance being rolled back. However, it should be important to note that it has been put on hold. It is not scrapped. In other words, the board of supervisors believed that the story would sneak past everyone, and when it didn’t, they withdrew it until a time when they can reinstate it without anyone knowing. This does beg the question though, is this legal?

Are Killer Robots Even Allowed?

This stunning question finds its answers in the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the states. In this case, their ability to police themselves. The police powers of the state are so widely used and abused that everything gets in and it is up to injured persons to fight back.

How they would fight back is by suing the state in federal court and most likely ending up at the U.S. Supreme Court. This is not only time consuming, it is incredibly expensive. How many people would die at the hands of the killer robots before relief is had? Who knows.

It is my opinion only that there is no earthly way that this would ever be considered legal to use on citizens. It is an overstep, clear and simple, to authorize robot police to enact justice through homicide. This type of warfare is designed for military operations, not local authorities. This does bring up a good question though, what other robots are sneaking up on us?

Robots Are Protected More Than You

We have all seen movies like Terminator and iRobot, and typically the story goes that the oppressed robots rise up. Unfortunately, this is not how it is happening. Robots have more federal protection and constitutional rights than any of us combined.

I had a client who was a college student and frat member. The state university was using robots to deliver food to the kids. For some reason, the young man picked up the robot a few inches and dropped it. There was no damage done. However, it was decked out in cameras and surveillance. It did not take long for authorities to find the young man.

In what was a seemingly harmless act, the powers that be tried to bring federal charges against him and locked him up. The charge? Assaulting a robot. He would not of been treated this way if he assaulted a human; maybe even 6 humans. But for a robot they threw the book at him.

Why Do Robots Have So Much Protection?

That one is easy. The same people who are passing laws to protect the robots are the same people who are investors in the robotic companies, or who have wealthy donors who are. They see the value of each robot far outweighing the value of human life. Yours, mine, 72 year old Edna down the street…

What is Next?

Robots are not going to stop. Robots are replacing people in their jobs. AI can now write homework which means the entire school system will change. Online education will go away because there is no way to confirm people are doing their own schoolwork. Robots are also becoming much more advanced in that they can self-heal and multiply on their own.

Is nobody else seeing a problem with this? Apparently not. Robots and AI have grown so fast that the law has not caught up to them. New laws need to be implemented in order to control this population and control the damage they will inevitably do.

How We Can Help

Shield Wall Legal deals in all constitutional issues. If you have been a victim of federal charges being brought on you for damaging AI; if you have been hurt by AI; or, if you would like to make sure that does not happen to you, contact us.

We would be glad to assist in with whatever we can help you with.