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Abstract

In the fall of 2023, New York City announced its plan to deploy an autonomous police robot, called K5, to patrol the Times Square subway station. Mayor Eric Adams touted the initiative as a cost-saving measure— K5 costs less per hour than a human patrol officer. But K5 was by no means a replacement for a human. It was effectively a security camera on wheels. K5 could be used to call for help but could not otherwise intervene in an emergency, and it was not capable of using force to respond to a threat. But in the not-so-distant future, autonomous robots that can use force may very well be patrolling public spaces. There are already plenty of examples of police using remote-controlled robots to apply force. If those physical capabilities are combined with K5’s ability to make independent decisions, police departments could have a powerful new tool—one that allows them to conduct a wide range of law enforcement activities at a lower cost and at a lower risk to human officers. …

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