On April sixteenth, Thailand’s Royal Thai Police launched their latest colleague, “AI Police Cyborg 1.0,” in a Facebook publish stating that the robotic was deployed on Tonson Road in Muang District. One {photograph} reveals the robotic wearing a police uniform whereas it stands on a wheeled steel platform lined by different uniformed officers.
Jointly developed by the Provincial Police Command 7, Nakhon Pathom Provincial Police, and Nakhon Nakhon Pathon Municipality, the robotic has quite a lot of chilling capabilities together with entry to close by CCTV cameras, drones, and its personal 360-degree AI cameras geared up with facial recognition, behavioral analysts, weapon detection, and blacklist alerts. Officials say its video analytics are superior sufficient to distinguish water weapons from actual weapons and determine violent conduct.
According to the RTP’s Facebook publish, the AI Police Cyborg 1.0 is linked with the province’s Command and Control heart “for environment friendly occasion security administration.” Ostensibly, enhancing public security is the robotic’s primary objective, therefore its title: Police Colonel Nakhonpathom Plod Phai, or “Nakhon Pathom is protected”. A spokesperson instructed ABP Live, “The AI Police Cyborg 1.0 helps us improve public security, particularly throughout massive occasions the place conventional policing assets may be stretched skinny. It’s a drive multiplier that by no means tires and maintains fixed vigilance.”
On the floor, that may sound good. But shopping for into the concept a police robotic with a slew of surveillance capabilities is simply meant for occasion administration is unlikely, particularly when contemplating the Thai police’s report of brutality towards activists. (Coincidentally, on April 16, Bloomberg reported that Thai safety providers have been doxxing pro-democracy activists on Facebook and X.)
Technology like AI Police Cyborg 1.0 has the potential for extreme social and political repercussions. However, chances are you’ll not need to freak out but. Police robots have an extended option to go earlier than they will surpass the specter of extra developed applied sciences like cell surveillance. Instead, they’re disasters for a a lot much less ominous cause: Being mid. For instance, New York City deserted its subway robotic in an empty storefront after an underwhelming pilot, and a police robotic in California as soon as instructed a lady to go away when she tried utilizing it for assist.
Although the Thai police eagerly marketed their robotic’s in depth AI capabilities, Futurism additionally famous that no one has really seen the factor transfer. Many robots nonetheless battle to navigate obstacles like sidewalks or toddlers so it’s not far-fetched to recommend that the Thai robotic both can’t transfer independently or it sucks at doing so. Given that and police robots’ international monitor data, Thailand’s robotic is unlikely to stay as much as its full, dystopian potential for now.
