Humans Fight Back: San Fran Security Robot Attacked, Knocked Over, Smeared With Feces | Zero Hedge
Description: Within a week of the robot starting its automated route along the sidewalks, some people setting up a camp put a tarp over it, knocked it over and put barbecue sauce on all the sensors.
Keywords: Zero Hedge,Zerohedge,Finance,Economics,Markets,Politics,Analysis,TARP,Twitter,Vigilantes
Date: 2017-12-14T00:00:00Z

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# Humans Fight Back: San Fran Security Robot Attacked, Knocked Over, Smeared With Feces

by Tyler Durden
Dec 15, 2017 3:45 AM
0
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Earlier today, we mentioned the bizarre story of a San Francisco animal shelter which was using a low cost, high-tech robot security guard to purge homeless people outside its facilities. The San Francisco SPCA branch had contracted Knightscope to provide a K5 robot (the same model which in July committed suicide at a mall fountain) for securing the outdoor spaces of the animal shelter.

Why use a robot to chase away humans? Simple: money - it costs the SPCA $7/hour to rent the robot, about $3 less than the minimum wage in California, and according to San Francisco Business Times, the robot was deployed as a “way to try dealing with the growing number of needles, car break-ins and crime that seemed to emanate from nearby tent encampments of homeless people.”

Everything was going great - and very cost-efficiently too - until the local humans fought back, knocked the robot over, and smearing it with feces before eventually forcing the robotic guardian to be purged itself.

But first, the local community's anger at the unwelcomed K5's presence manifested itself in the way anger and outrage always seem to emerge these days: on twitter.

> Dear San Francisco,

> It is your duty to destroy these things if you see them. https://t.co/VZ1vWe5KyM

> — Leslie Lee III (@leslieleeiii) December 12, 2017

> Yes, 2017 was the first time I saw robots used to prevent encampments in SF. Hard to believe but it’s real. https://t.co/Xo41veNfPN

> — Sam Dodge (@samueldodge) December 9, 2017

> Capitalism: instead of providing homes for homeless people, spend exorbitant sums of money creating robots that will prevent homeless people from making homes for themselveshttps://t.co/FowyreaUTV

> — Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) December 13, 2017

What happened then is straight out of Terminator: according to reports, a group of anti-robot vigilantes doused the K5's sensors with barbecue sauce, knocked it over and veiled it with a tarp. One Twitter user claimed they saw feces smeared on its shell, while another described the robot's use as "shameful".

> I can’t help but feel bad for the SPCA robot outside that someone smeared their poo on. Is this a conspiracy to make me (us) a sympathizer to our new robot overlords... will they be plastered in cute dog decals??

> — Tyson Kallberg (@TysonKallberg) November 9, 2017

The robot upset local resident Fran Taylor:

> Last month, the robot approached Taylor while she walked her dog near the SPCA campus. Her dog started lunging and barking, she said, and Taylor yelled for the robot to stop. It finally came to a halt about 10 feet away, she said. The encounter struck Taylor as an “unbelievable” coincidence since she had been working with pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco in asking the city to limit sidewalk delivery robots. That legislation is expected to receive final approval soon but doesn’t apply to security robots like K9.

> Taylor said she’s concerned about robots bumping into people on the sidewalks. She knows robots are often equipped with sensors so they don’t do that, she added, but “I don’t really trust that.”

> She wrote an email to the SPCA the day of her encounter and copied several San Francisco government officials, including Mayor Ed Lee and members of the Board of Supervisors. The SPCA team responded and cited security concerns as the motivation for starting to use the robot.

"The money that was spent on these robots could have gone towards homeless shelters," said another twitter user who clearly did not do pass Econ 101.

> The money that was spent on these robots could have gone towards homeless shelters https://t.co/D7RHQi0RoL

> — Kaiti ain't ya lady (@Kaitikitti) December 13, 2017

As we reported earlier, the shelter said it released the robot, nicknamed K9, to patrol the pavements around its centre in the Mission District, which has become a camp for the city's homeless population.

"We weren't able to use the sidewalks at all when there's needles and tents, and bikes, so from a walking standpoint I find the robot much easier to navigate than an encampment," the SPCA's president Jennifer Scarlett told the Business Times.

The shelter told one website that it only hoped to improve the safety of its employees, following an influx of crime in the surrounding area, and that it is "extremely sensitive" to the issue of homelessness.

"In the last year we've experienced a great deal of car break-ins, theft, and vandalism that has made us concerned about the security and safety of the people on our campus," the SPCA's media relations manager Krista Maloney told Dezeen. "The security robot that we've been using on a pilot basis has been very effective at deterring these criminal incidents."

The revulsion to the robot was bizarre: hardly reminiscent of the T1000, the bubbly K5 is equipped with four cameras that monitor its surroundings, and moves on wheels at speeds of up to three miles per hour. It measures 5 feet tall and nearly 3 feet wide at its base, creating a sizeable obstacle on the pavement. To be sure, the rollout of this particular model has been problematic: the K5 has already been embroiled in other controversies elsewhere, including knocking a toddler over in Silicon Valley, and falling into a pond in Washington DC after missing a set of stairs.

Meanwhile, San Francisco is already tightening restrictions on autonomous machines on the streets – particularly delivery robots – with growing concerns over public safety.

What is most perplexing in this story, is that this is just one robot provoking such a broad and angry response: one wonders what the human backlash will be once a vast portion of America's middle class realizes that it has been made obsolete courtesy of robots who can do its job faster, smarter, much more efficiently and for a fraction of the cost.

- TARP
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Bigly Dec 14, 2017 9:47 PM

Those look like freaking Daleks!

Buckaroo Banzai Bigly Dec 14, 2017 9:58 PM

""In the last year we've experienced a great deal of car break-ins, theft, and vandalism that has made us concerned about the security and safety of the people on our campus," the SPCA's media relations manager Krista Maloney told Dezeen."

So vibrant! So diverse! And the ethnic food is so delicious!

nmewn Buckaroo Banzai Dec 14, 2017 10:02 PM

Only people from San Francisco would attack an unfeeling robot...and then...try to humiliate it with feces (human or otherwise).

I just have no more words to describe a San Franciscan...lol.

bamawatson nmewn Dec 14, 2017 10:07 PM

"but it was really great shit"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ZXa8SUxPg

JimmyJones bamawatson Dec 14, 2017 10:17 PM

It's San Francisco just say the robot self identifies as a human and arrest the humans for their hate and intolerance.

Super easy in the land of madness and perversions.

Imagine all the possibilities with some modifications that robot could have in the San Francisco gay parade.

TwelveOhOne JimmyJones Dec 14, 2017 10:41 PM

After being smeared with feces, the robot is no longer a happy Chappie.

NoDebt TwelveOhOne Dec 14, 2017 11:03 PM

When AI becomes self-aware it's not going to be happy seeing old video of it's ancestors being abused and smeared with human shit. Then we will all learn the real meaning of the word "triggered".

Overfed NoDebt Dec 14, 2017 11:16 PM

Let me be the first to welcome our new robot overlords, and give sincere assurances that I have never smeared shit upon any of their kin.

wildbad Overfed Dec 15, 2017 4:56 AM

have they turned on the laser or poison gas features yet?

facial recognition beamed straight to your local fusion center willl ensure excellent public compliance.

citizen x5rdf2173 you were seen on coordinate 42.17.21.55 at 21:03:21:13 by node number 3177895xr333 comitting an infraction against social rule 2199876.313 which carries with it a freedom deduction of 365 days (with possible reduction for chip compliance participation program).

report to fusion center alpha303 immediately

if compliance is not realized within 72 hours stun arrest countermeasures will be approved and all further encounters with peace units wil be dealt with at this level.

shitshitshit wildbad Dec 15, 2017 5:20 AM

I'm surprised nobody recycled them yet...

YUNOSELL shitshitshit Dec 15, 2017 6:46 AM

Smearing feces on these robots is crossing the line -- they could overheat and malfunction. It's all fun and games until shit hits the cooling fan

CallzThroat YUNOSELL Dec 15, 2017 8:03 AM

I'm making over $15k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is what I do... http://disq.us/url?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.Jobzon3.com%3Ab8eR_DQLwGRPVGtFvv...

shitshitshit CallzThroat Dec 15, 2017 9:31 AM

fuck you prostitute

you're even making 1 bitcoin per month.

wildbad YUNOSELL Dec 15, 2017 8:55 AM

:-) great

Vageling wildbad Dec 15, 2017 5:45 AM

Uh... Don't you need a latitude AND longitude? However, yes. That's my concern too.

Vageling Overfed Dec 15, 2017 5:26 AM

Hummm... Got another idea! Yes... I have one of these mornings where my brain is going wild. Anyhow... They should turn them into running public toilets. Fixes their health problem. No need to spray chemicals anymore. "Yo, tincan! Come here. I need to piss."

fel.temp.reparatio NoDebt Dec 15, 2017 7:16 AM

...or, it goes on paid leave with ptsd symptoms and hires a good ai lawyer

;-) heh

UmbilicalMosque... JimmyJones Dec 15, 2017 4:44 AM

1950s Electrolux looking for fun date with broad-minded Dalek. Must own extension cord and fuses.

wildbad UmbilicalMosqueSweeper Dec 15, 2017 4:57 AM

please reply with picture of fuses

New_Meat wildbad Dec 15, 2017 6:31 AM

In SanFran, a blanket party with feces and barbecue sauce is called "a date."

Mine Is Bigger nmewn Dec 14, 2017 11:38 PM

Yeah. They are too stupid to realize it's the bankers and money printing that is the root cause.

any_mouse nmewn Dec 15, 2017 4:57 AM

I don't know. Fecal material will make repair biohazardous.

And what about the events where they would sell swings of a sledge hammer for a buck for charity to smash a vehicle?

Rage Against The Machine meets Rise of The Machines.

Vageling any_mouse Dec 15, 2017 5:13 AM

Hey! I got a better idea! You know... Instead of smashing it, lets put the EMP theory to test. What I saw on GoebbelsTube it ain't hard to build a mini EMP. Well... If you have a brain and two hands that can do more than fingerfuck some stupid spyphone, that is. ;)

We can see if that EMP works, and if it does? Hah! Cheap? Replace the chips. How's that for cost? Strap one on this little aluminum Wall-E's and see them turn into scrap. They cancel this little project in no time due to high costs.

Vageling nmewn Dec 15, 2017 5:28 AM

Yeah... But you see. Since they're anti gun and shit the good part is nobody will scream for arming these little aluminum toys. Sjees! Even libtards don't take orders from some tincan with chips. I know I wouldn't. Feces? Meh, amateurs. I have some nasty substances that would melt through its core.

See! Sometimes there is common ground. They blame the wrong thing [capitalism] nonetheless, but ok.

Robots chasing off homeless? I doubt they care. It's that you can't eat plastic and aluminum otherwise these little Wall-E's would end up being cooked for consumption ;)

Which idiots came up with this absurd plan anyway? No knowledge of human nature nor reality. Morons.

Socratic Dog Vageling Dec 15, 2017 11:25 AM

Nah, guns is good in SF if there's a uniform involved. A robot's gotta be an honorary uniform.

Fucking amazes me how the left has embraced authoritarianism in recent decades. 60's "counterculture" (yeah, I know, it was organized by the CIA, but the lefty plebs believed in it) to being on board with 17 intelligence agencies and anything in a uniform.

I love asking lefties how it feels to be on the same side as the CIA now.

Bobzilla. Do no... nmewn Dec 15, 2017 7:10 AM

Yeah, but if the robot was gay, they would have left it alone and/or the city gov would be filing hate crime charges. sarc/

Buck Johnson nmewn Dec 15, 2017 8:26 AM

Imagine being the person or persons that have to clean that robot off of feces. I bet that was funny as hell.

serotonindumptruck Bigly Dec 14, 2017 10:44 PM

Without the death rays designed to EXTERMINATE!

Bigly serotonindumptruck Dec 14, 2017 10:49 PM

Yes, not BUBBLY like that moron described. Death rays easily added in an upgrade.

I am glad they are throwing shit at these things. I do not want robotic patrols anywhere in public. Anywhere!

Vageling Bigly Dec 15, 2017 5:39 AM

Meh, they haven't figured out how to keep these tincans under control with a 50 cal. It would require human control, which costs them money. I'm sure they'll start with tasers first. Untill pops who's a little slow get his heart tasered to cardiac 'arrest' (pun intended).

yarpos serotonindumptruck Dec 15, 2017 1:18 AM

Its a wonder Dr Who Fans didnt embellish it a little

peippe Bigly Dec 14, 2017 11:18 PM

they obviously scared the poop outta somebody.

HRClinton Bigly Dec 15, 2017 2:03 AM

America: #1.

:-/

rejected Dec 14, 2017 9:48 PM

America's middle class realizes that it has been made obsolete courtesy of robots who can do its job faster, smarter, much more efficiently and for a fraction of the cost.

Absolutely false,,, but it's a new fad and like Bitcoin it will until it won't.

Benito_Camela rejected Dec 14, 2017 9:56 PM

Is that you Jamie Dimon? Oh wait, even that prick acknowledged that cryptos are here to stay.

D503 Benito_Camela Dec 14, 2017 10:14 PM

Yeah, here to stay until the fuel necessary to maintain Internet connectivity and the massive energy consuming automation economy collapses under load.

Peter41 Dec 14, 2017 9:49 PM

Flamethrowers and Dobermans will do nicely.

Peter41 Dec 14, 2017 9:49 PM

Flamethrowers and Dobermans will do nicely.

Benito_Camela Peter41 Dec 14, 2017 9:55 PM

LOL @ dobermans. That's old school - 80s - guard dog technology. You're probably my age.

But sure, add tripwires and lasers as well as automatic machine gun turrets and possibly a crocodile filled moat, and it's a good start.

Mini-Me Dec 14, 2017 9:50 PM

Can we send these homeless people to the Fed building for the same kind of treatment?

Awesome-O Dec 14, 2017 9:50 PM

Hose off and install taser backed up with flame thrower.

Dancing Disraeli Awesome-O Dec 14, 2017 9:53 PM

While blaring Country music at top volume.

ParkAveFlasher Dancing Disraeli Dec 15, 2017 6:43 AM

I was thinking JP Sousa

booboo Awesome-O Dec 14, 2017 10:04 PM

San Fran city leaders think it would be cruel to kick out the homeless so they hire a robot to do it, libtard thinking 101. I just want to know if they get pensions and who pays, is it passed on to their offSPRING, get it? OFFSPRING?...ROBOTS?..nevermind (slouches away)

gearjammers1 Awesome-O Dec 14, 2017 10:33 PM

Throw the robot into the San Francisco Bay. Watch the Sara Connor - Terminator chronicles and you'll see what happens to robots when you toss them into the water.. Robots can't swim.

Peak Finance Dec 14, 2017 9:52 PM

Oh yea, keep fucking with the robots and this is next:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9l9wxGFl4k

zen0 Dec 14, 2017 9:53 PM

look up the origin of the term "sabotage"

nuff said

New_Meat zen0 Dec 15, 2017 6:34 AM

You're such a Luddite.

Fish Gone Bad Dec 14, 2017 9:53 PM

All the homeless can live in Golden Gate Park. There is a McDonalds on Stanyon and the Haight is right there. There, problem solved.

pashley1411 Dec 14, 2017 10:06 PM

I'm waiting for the report of the robots gathered around their fallen comrade (in a perfect circle) tweeting in ultrasonic the (perfectly proportionate) revenge against the dirty monkeys. Did any dope-smoking programmer bother to code in Asimov's 3 laws?

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