>>SOME BUSINESSES IN SAN FRANCISCO HAVE BEGUN
USING SECURITY ROBOTS IN ORDER TO FEND OFF THE POOR.
SAN
FRANCISCO DOES HAVE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT HOMELESS PROBLEM,
AND THEY ARE ARGUING THAT THE HOMELESSNESS IS LEADING TO CRIME
AND VANDALATION -- VANDALISM --
>>I WAS GOING TO SAY, IS THAT A WORD?
THAT'S AN EXCELLENT WORD
YOU JUST MADE UP THERE.
WE HAVE SOME VANDALATION GOING ON HERE.
>>VANDALISM.
ONE NONPROFIT STARTED USING ONE OF THESE ROBOT
SECURITY GUARDS THEN
>>YOU MEAN THEY STARTED UTILATING IT?
>>THAT'S RIGHT --
>>THE SPCA WAS ARGUING THAT HOMELESS PEOPLE WERE THREATENING
SOME OF OUR EMPLOYEES, THE VANDALISM WAS OUT OF HAND, SO WE
DECIDED TO USE THIS ROBOT THAT APPARENTLY DETERRED SOME OF THE
CRIME --
>>YOU MUST BE WONDERING, WHAT DOES THE ROBOT DO?
VISIT SHOOT
LASERS AT PEOPLE?
IT DOESN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN
PROVIDE A DOMINATING FORCE AND ALSO JUST MONITOR WHAT'S GOING
ON.
>>THINK OF IT LIKE A PATROL CAR ON THE SIDE OF THE
STREET.
THESE ARE NOT THERE TO INTERVENE WITH ANYTHING BEING
DONE, THEY ARE THERE TO PROVIDE A COMMANDING PRESENCE, TO HAVE
SOMETHING THERE SIMILAR TO THE PATROL CAR, EVERYONE SEES THAT
AND THEY IMMEDIATELY SAY I NEED TO BEHAVE.
IT'S NOT ABOUT HAVING A HUMAN PRESENCE NECESSARILY, JUST
AN AUTHORITATIVE PRESENCE.
>>THEY HAVE CAMERAS IN THEM, YOU COULD JUST PLACE CAMERAS, WHAT
ELSE DOES THE ROBOT DO?
>>GOING BACK TO WHEN I WAS A POLICE OFFICER ONE OF THE FIRST
THINGS THEY TEACH YOU IS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A USE OF FORCE.
AND
THAT FIRST USE OF FORCE IS THE COMMANDING PRESENCE.
WHAT A
CAMERA THAT'S MOUNTED ON TOP OF A BUILDING DOES IS ABSOLUTELY NO
PRESENCE.
>>THE SPCA GOT SO MUCH PUSHBACK FOR UTILIZING THESE ROBOTS THAT
THEY DECIDED TO STOP, THE CITY IS ALSO GETTING INVOLVED BECAUSE
MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE APPARENTLY EMPLOYING THESE
ROBOTS, NOW YOU NEED TO TAKE PERMITS OUT IN ORDER TO HAVE ONE
IN FRONT OF YOUR BUSINESS OR USE ONE ON A SIDEWALK.
SO MAYBE THEY
DIDN'T LIKE THE PERMIT PROCESS.
BUT EITHER WAY THESE ROBOTS COST ABOUT SIX DOLLARS PER HOUR
VERSUS THE $16 PER HOUR THEY WOULD HAVE TO PAY A PERSON
TO BE A SECURITY GUARD SO THERE'S THAT COMPONENT AS WELL.
>>WHY DID THEY MAKE THE ROBOTS LOOK LIKE KLAN MEMBERS?
>>THE
COFOUNDER WE HEARD FROM WAS ARGUING THAT THEY INTENTIONALLY
MADE THE ROBOTS LOOK LIKE THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE THINK IT'S CUTE.
>>IF I SAW ONE OF THOSE I WOULDN'T RUN, I WOULD TAKE A
SELFIE.
>>I WOULD RUN, THAT LOOKS TERRIFYING TO ME.
>>ALSO IT LOOKS LIKE THE EGG ROBIN WILLIAMS CAME OUT OF ON
MORK AND MINDY.
>>IT MADE ME DISAPPOINTED THOUGH BECAUSE THEY DON'T LOOK
LIKE THE ROBOTS IN I ROBOT.
>>IT STILL TERRIFIED ME, I GUESS I'M THE DEMOGRAPHIC
THAT THEY ARE TARGETING.
>>THEY WANT TO KEEP YOU AWAY FROM THE SPCA.
>>NOW LET ME MAKE MY SERIOUS POINTS, LET'S DEAL WITH
HOMELESSNESS INSTEAD OF BUILDING THE MOATS AND EMPLOYING ROBOTS
DEFEND THEM AWAY.
A STORY WE DIDN'T GET TO EARLIER THIS WEEK
WAS ABOUT ONE OF THE WILDFIRES IN CALIFORNIA, THE ONE THAT
THREATENED THE AREA I LIVE IN, IT WAS THE BEL AIR FIRE -- I
DON'T LIVE IN BEL AIR, I LIVE IN THE LESS AFFLUENT PART NEAR IT
-- BUT THE REASON THAT FIRE STARTED IS THERE WAS A HOMELESS
ENCAMPMENT NEARBY AND HOMELESS PEOPLE WERE COOKING FOOD WITH
THE OPEN FLAME, BARREL FIRES ARE BECOMING COMMON IN LOS ANGELES
BECAUSE HOMELESSNESS HAS GOTTEN OUT OF CONTROL, SO AGAIN YOU CAN
BUILD YOUR MOATS, YOU CAN TRY TO DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO TO TRY TO
GET HOMELESS PEOPLE AWAY FROM YOU, IT WON'T WORK.
THINGS ARE GETTING BAD, WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE ROOT OF
THE PROBLEM.
>>LOOK, THE ROBOTS ARE THE BEGINNING.
RIGHT NOW, THEY ARE
NOT SHOOTING LASERS OUT, THEY ARE NOT BUMPING INTO THE
HOMELESS PEOPLE UNTIL THEY LEAVE, I GET THE CAMERAS AND THE
ROTATING HEAD WILL SCARE OFF SOME PEOPLE WHO MIGHT WANT TO
BREAK IN, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT ONCE YOU HAVE DEPLOYED YOUR ARMY
OF ROBOTS, WHAT IS NEXT?
IF YOU WANT TO PREVENT THE CRIME I GET
THAT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IF YOU WANT TO FEND OFF THE
HOMELESS THAT'S A DIFFERENT THING.
NOW YOU HAVE SENT
NONHUMANS TO ATTACK HUMANS, IN A SENSE, RIGHT?
THAT'S THE FIRST
STEP, IN WON'T BE THE LAST STEP.
THIS ISN'T RIGHT.
I'M NOT NAœVE,
I'M NOT ONE OF THOSE LIBERALS WHO ARE LIKE, THE HOMELESS ARE
ALL ANGELS AND YOU SHOULD GO HUG ONE OF THEM.
SOME OF THEM HAVE
SERIOUS MENTAL ISSUES AND SOMETIMES VIOLENCE HAPPENS,
ETC., SO I GET IT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE ANSWER ISN'T
EITHER HAVE THEM ALL OVER THE STREETS OR CRUSH THEM.
THERE HAS
TO BE A BETTER ANSWER AND WE CAN'T JUST SEND OUR ROBOTS AFTER
THEM.
OBVIOUSLY SAN FRANCISCO ISN'T DOING IT RIGHT, BECAUSE
THAT LEVEL OF PROBLEM DOESN'T EXIST IN OTHER CITIES.
IT'S
STARTING TO EXIST EVERYWHERE IN HIGHER LEVELS, ONE OF THE ISSUES
IS INCOME INEQUALITY, THEY DON'T ALL HAVE MENTAL ISSUES, SOME OF
THEM JUST CAN'T AFFORD -- I WAS TALKING TO A JUSTICE DEMOCRAT
RUNNING FOR CONGRESS YESTERDAY, CORY BUSH, WHILE SHE WAS GOING
TO SCHOOL SHE HAD TO LIVE OUT HER FOR CAR.
AND ROBOTS ARE DEFINITELY NOT THE ANSWER.
>>I'M BIG ON INTERSECTIONS, I THINK THAT THE GAY COMMUNITY IN
SAN FRANCISCO THAT HAS A GREAT VOICE SHOULD SPEAK UP FOR THE
HOMELESS PEOPLE.
YOU TALKED ABOUT IT EARLIER, WHAT PERSON
THAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIC OR THAT IS SUFFERING FROM A DEEP STATE OF
MANIA IS GOING TO RUN FROM THAT ROBOT?
WHAT EFFECTIVENESS -- WE
HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE REAL ISSUES, THE REAL ISSUE WITH
HOMELESSNESS, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE MENTALLY ILL, WE KEEP
IGNORING MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE BECAUSE WE TRY TO SWEEP THIS
UNDER THE RUG, IT'S A BIG ISSUE.
ALL OF US WILL BE AFFECTED BY IT
AT SOME POINT.
I WAS HOMELESS.
I FEEL LIKE EVERY TIME I COME HERE
I BELONG TO EVERY TRAGIC GROUP, I'VE HAD A ROUGH LIFE, THAT'S
WHY I'M A COMEDIAN, SO I CAN MAKE JOKES ABOUT IT.
I WAS
HOMELESS.
YOU ARE ALREADY AT THE BOTTOM.
I WAS HOMELESS WITH TWO
CHILDREN, ALREADY AT THE BOTTOM.
YOU ARE GOING TO SHOO ME AWAY WITH A ROBOT, YOU COULD
HAVE USED THE MONEY TO MAKE THAT ROBOT TO HELP FEED SOME OF
THE HOMELESS.
>>MAYBE GIVE YOU A JOB SO YOU AREN'T HOMELESS.
>>I WOULD BE THE SECURITY GUARD AND YOU WON'T NEED THE ROBOT.
I WOULD'VE TAKEN SIX DOLLARS PER HOUR BECAUSE I WAS HOMELESS.
>>CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF TECHCRUNCH IN THE DESCRIPTION
BOX, THERE IS A LINK, OR IN THE CORNER