Robotic Nation Evidence

Police forces are in the process of turning from civilian organizations into military organizations, as explained here:

Cops With Machine Guns: How the War on Terror Has Militarized the Police

The most serious consequence of the rapid militarization of American police forces, however, is the subtle evolution in the mentality of the "men in blue" from "peace officer" to soldier. This development is absolutely critical and represents a fundamental change in the nature of law enforcement. The primary mission of a police officer traditionally has been to "keep the peace." Those whom an officer suspects to have committed a crime are treated as just that - suspects. Police officers are expected, under the rule of law, to protect the civil liberties of all citizens, even the "bad guys." For domestic law enforcement, a suspect in custody remains innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, police officers operate among a largely friendly population and have traditionally been trained to solve problems using a complex legal system; the deployment of lethal violence is an absolute last resort.

Soldiers, by contrast, are trained to identify people they encounter as belonging to one of two groups -- the enemy and the non-enemy -- and they often reach this decision while surrounded by a population that considers the soldier an occupying force. Once this identification is made, a soldier's mission is stark and simple: kill the enemy, "try" not to kill the non-enemy. Indeed, the Soldier's Creed declares, "I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat." This is a far cry from the peace officer's creed that expects its adherents "to protect and serve."

What is the next step? The military uses robots and drones. Therefore we would expect police forces to use robots and drones. Imagine a protest. Imagine how a civilian police force would manage the situation. Then imagine how a military police force would manage it. Then imagine how robots with the ability to deploy lethal force would approach it. There are two possibilities:

1) If programmed aggressively, the robots incapacitate or kill the protesters.

2) If programmed rationally, the robots might be better at the job than militarized police because robots would execute the rules of engagement perfectly. A peaceful protest would be allowed to proceed. Any unruly members in the protest would be isolated and contained so the remaining protesters are free to go about their business.

The outcome depends on who gets to program the robots.