In the latest real-life episode of Black Mirror, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in California is considering the use of bomb-equipped robots to stop “serious threats” in San Francisco, CA. communities. If that sounds scary, it’s because it is. A question we should be asking ourselves is, who is programming these robots to determine who is and is not a serious threat? Is it law enforcement? If so, it foreshadows a grim future for the lives of Black Americans if we allow this to continue unchecked.
The First Use of Robotic Force
It all begins with Micah Xavier Johnson, a Black Army veteran who became the first person in U.S. history to be killed by a police robot. Micah, tired of the unchecked abuse afflicted on the Black community at the hands of White police men decided to strike back. Now we can ask ourselves, was Micah X a serious threat? Sure, maybe. But let’s be clear. Dylan Roof was a serious threat. Payton Gendron was a serious threat. But a robot executioner was sent for only one of the 3 men mentioned, why? Because Micah X. Johnson was Black and is not allowed to be a threat.
San Francisco is not alone in their pursuit of robotic police officers. Last year, New York had to abandon their contract with Boston Dynamics after N.Y. citizens complained that their robodogs were “dystopian” and widened mistrust of the system. This was especially true for Black New Yorkers after police sent a robodog into their building for no reason at all. The outrage forced New York to can the program but that begs the question...why is San Francisco still considering the move?
Evolving Anti-Blackness Into a Software Glitch
The response from the New York residents made it clear that people do not want robocops. Unfortunately, governments are not great at working for the people especially if they are Black. As it stands, Black people make up only 13% of the population, yet are overrepresented in imprisonment and account for 27% (the highest rate) of people murdered by police in America. My concern is, if increased public scrutiny and the potential to be sued has not stopped cops from unjust killings, what happens when a robot can be used as a scapegoat?
Many of us have heard the saying that one thing leads to another and it applies here. The initial deployment of robocops MAY not be used often and MAY not kill anyone but don't confuse the introduction with the end state. Governments at all levels want to normalize a cauldron of robocops patrolling the street. When the population begins to accept the presence of the robots, their scope of operation will widen from simple surveillance to having kill authority. Now what happens if the logic that determines if the robots kills is programmed by someone with anti-Black sentiments?
It means that the government will be able to continue their genocide of Black Americans and blame it on faulty software.
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