The story about an Atlanta citizen’s self built and deployed “robocop” is a great example in our culture of us lacking a way to talk about behavior.
This story is rich with very clear behaviors and selection by consequences. A great situation to analyze because of its clarity in the details and its implications for public policy, policing, homeless, vigilante law, and robot aids.
Behaviors:
- robot patrol
- drug dealing
- prostitution
- drug use
- urinating/defecating
- water spraying
- load speaker
- roaming
“Genetics”/Biology/History (non environmental aspects of the people):
- drug addiction?
- illness?
- STD?
- drunk/high?
- no money
- been in jail before?
- citizen?
- worker?
- parent?
Environment:
- late night
- bar nearby
- homeless shelter
- day care center
- playground
- downtown Atlanta
- weather
- patrol precinct
- nearby housing
- pass-through traffic
Reinforcers and Schedule Setting:
- robot patrol times
- day care time
- drug dealer visits
- when security guard leaves each night
- police patrols
- bar closing/opening
- Color, shape, logo on robot
- robot size
- traffic
Consequences:
- Humiliation
- Cold water spray
- Identification
- Space reduction
- Assault
So…
If it’s effective at reducing unwanted behaviors (drug dealing, drug use, littering, spreading disease), is this a good public policy? Is the use of robots to do what our law enforcement doesn’t do for budget or other reasons how we want to alter behaviors?
Will the homeless, drug dealers and other perps habituate to it knowing the robot can’t really do anything? Is threat of arrest an effective reinforcer consider the robot can’t enforce that consequence? What new behaviors has this generated? Who should be the one deciding whether a crime might be commited so you should annoy someone/spray someone with the robot? How do you avoid “Minority Report” style crime prevention or do we value prevention of crime that much?
What do the people of this neighborhood value? What does the builder of the robot value? What do the homeless and drug dealers value?
So many questions!
As more cameras, robotic watch dogs and automation enter our citizenship we’re going to need to understand what is going on in these situations. We lack an analysis strategy in public policy for figuring this out. It’s an elephant in the room at all levels of government – wiretapping, patriot act, police cams, metal detectors at schools, airport security, social profiling.
Here’s our public policy statement from the article:
Police Major Lane Hagin says the robot is definitely a different crime-fighting idea. “There’s no problem with the robot going up and down the street or being visible or any of the other things it does — with the exception of spraying water on people.”
Hagin adds, “Then, it becomes an assault no matter where it happens.”
If the perps know this, and they do, the effect of the robot is what? and its legally OK to have a private robot patrolling the streets? Really?
~Russ
MAKING A BETTER BBQ ROBOCOP 2.0
The mixed values of all concerned are all over the place in this example of assessing the dynamics of what is going on in this community. There are something’s to be equally amused about and fear at the same time. The BBQ Robcop is the catalyst. We can all sleep well tonight!
What is it that the people there – neighborhood – community – state – values and what don’t they value?
They are in the process of finding out.
Of course there isn’t any consensus. Welcome to the real world we all live in. There are all sorts of different constituents – all with rights, histories and contingencies operating on them. Most are just trying to make it through the day. It is clearly not the grotesque picture we’d like to think… and be certain doesn’t happen in OUR communities, but it does. Most everyone involved doesn’t have the resources – on so many levels – to make changes in their lives. And, if they got them today they’d be hard press to know how to use them according to almost any guidelines provided, and the cycle would start over. All these issues make them less valuable to government, themselves and each other. They all value different things and the ‘community’ is not on anyone’s list.
Drug dealers
johns
Drug users
Prostitutes
Homeless citizens
Citizens that live there
Citizens that are passing by
Children of the citizens
Teachers, vendors, workers
Municipal workers – including the police
Engineer
Multiples of people above are bested by just one person who turns his set of emotions into action. Yet fear of assault by the Robocop BBQ is more key to the police than the upsetting the questionable status quo of this micro community of ‘disposable citizens’ that is part of the Atlanta society.
And, if it is a robot who spays water on a person, who is responsible for what the robot does? [Oops! There is that word again…] the robot, the current environment, designer, the people who taught the engineer to make things, his parents, god, Jehovah, Louis Faracon? And, as we all know, Atlanta nights can be muggy and a cool spay of water might bring some relief, so it that also assault?
The guy created a robot ‘cause he couldn’t get people to do what was necessary to take care of their own back yard (figuratively). He acted; he got ‘engaged’ by the relationships he saw that were not of value to him and went toward the things that were of value to him. Others praised it and some didn’t. Thing is, he has found success in getting some movement on many of the issues that were involved… vagrancy, homelessness, prostitution, drug deals, apathy, etc. Sounds like he could have been a better or at least a viable person to win the 2006 election he lost.
Just for the record, when you move to BBQ-RoboCop 2.0 do the following:
• Add a camera that takes infrared pictures as well as typical pictures
• Have the digital pictures instantly sent to a community center electronically w. time and date stamps
• Use flash bulbs to take normal pictures as no one like those lights going off
• Play music from the Renaissance period of music and in varying volume
• Send the citizens in the area the # of complaints that were recorded by the police department and the number of responses by the police for each month
• Get the community center into the 21st century with respect to supporting the homeless be homeless