Results: Real Life RoboCop

On Tuesday, the first ever robot cop reported for duty at a Dubai shopping mall. The robot officer, manufactured by Pal Robotics of Barcelona, has a touchscreen that allows shoppers to report crimes or pay traffic violations. It can also give directions and shower people with compliments (which, of course, always sound more sincere coming from a pre-programmed electronic device). Are you familiar with this news story?

Dubai wants 25% of its police force to be robots by 2030. Would you want a RoboCop division in your local police force?

Alan Winfield, Professor of Robot Ethics at the University of the West of England, argues there are some serious moral concerns. "There are big ethical problems," he told CNN. "If you're asking a robot to apprehend criminals, how can you be sure that the robot would not injure people?" While I agree with Winfield, I think I am more surprised that there is an actual professor of robot ethics. Were you aware of this position?