Robotics
dogs are being assigned to patrol the southern border of the United States with
Mexico. However, critics say the move would exacerbate the anti-immigrant
atmosphere and the already unfavorable and inhumane conditions in the region.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Tuesday it is handing over
surveillance of the country’s southern border with Mexico to robot dogs. The
initiative is aimed at assisting US Customs and Protection (CPP) personnel.
The
department said the robot dog deployment program aims to increase the presence
of CPS at borders by using technology to reduce threats to human life.
According to Brand Elong, program manager at the Directorate of Science and
Technology (S&T) in Homeland Security, the southern border may not have a
favorable environment for humans and animals. That’s why a machine can perform
better there.
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| image by The verge.com |
Elong added that the project, led by S&T, is focusing on
automated ground surveillance vehicles, or what we call ‘ABSways’. Critics
initially linked the unveiling of robot dogs by a company called Ghost Robotics
to one of the science fiction concepts presented in the television show Back
Mirror. In these sci-fi movies, the worst situations are presented.
The robot company is working with DHS on this project.
Last year, a robot dog with a gun on its back was unveiled. Critics of the
technology have strongly criticized it, saying it is inhumane and offensive,
even if DES believes semi-automatic drones are the cause of the increase in
power. The American Civil Liberties Union, a non-profit and advocacy group
working for civil liberties in the United States, said the Biden administration
should immediately freeze the robot dogs program. The ACLO said in a tweet:
“The DHS’s plan to use robot dogs at the border is destructive to civil
liberties”.
The government must react to this plan and the Biden
administration must stop our country from moving towards anti-immigrant
conditions. However, Gavin Connelly, chief product officer at Ghost Robotics,
says the company’s 100-pound robot dog was genocide in a way that is well
suited to CBP work. Kanelli added that this is a powerful four-legged robot. It
can walk on any kind of land including sand, rocks and hills, and man-made
stairs.
Despite the harsh and unfavorable conditions on the border between the
United States and Mexico, the DHS claims that there is a lot of illegal
activity in these desolate areas. According to Brett Baker of the CBP’s
Innovation Team: Like any other place, you are exposed to traditional criminal
activity. But at the border, you face human trafficking and other illegal
goods, including drug trafficking. These include arms or possibly WMD
(smuggling of weapons of mass destruction).
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