In an article entitled “2084: A Big Robot Watching You,” University of Sheffield professor of robotics Noel Sharkey predicts a new world in which surveillance, security, and law enforcement are increasingly transferred to artificial intelligence.
In the next 30 years, Sharkey is confident, “Humanoid walking robots will be used to maintain order in sports games, during strikes and riots. They will patrol urban centers and disadvantaged areas where violence is very likely."
“The robots will have a very high level of speech recognition and will be able to ask questions and respond to answers. “What's your ID number? What are you doing here? Come in. They will be able to work in teams and arm themselves with non-lethal weapons (for example, tasers or nets) and go out on calls to resolve difficult situations and arrest suspects,”adds the professor.
In addition to performing mundane tasks like checking tickets or removing bullies from social gatherings, they will also be able to “spray RFID sensors or some futuristic equivalent over the crowd so that participants in the event can be tracked even after the crowd has been dispersed.” writes Sharkey.
By 2070, according to the professor, robots will be indistinguishable from humans, and will be able to use intelligent swarm technologies that will make "escape from them impossible." Robotic police cars will drive the streets, scanning license plates and automatically debiting fines from their owners' bank accounts.
Professor Noel Sharkey is openly warning that the DARPA fleets of robots, which the military claims are being developed for "humanitarian" and "rescue" purposes, are actually designed to kill.
His warnings are corroborated by Human Rights Watch, as well as former intelligence officer Lt. Col. Douglas Prier, who wrote an article warning of the dangers of ruthless "killer robots" that will be used to track human targets in the near future.
In April of this year, Pentagon scientists announced that they were able to create a machine that functions in the same way as the human brain, and will allow robots to think and act autonomously independently - which, of course, does not dispel fears about the possibility of using such machines.
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