New York Digidog takes more than a bite out of crime
America’s and man’s best friend has been digitized. Digidog out of Boston Dynamics has been over ten years in the making. Clearly, the next step is robocop which as we reported last year is already in the works. Robot cop was created to assist cops at traffic stops, making it safer for both parties. On the other hand, Digidog’s purpose isn’t really clear. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the US Representative for New York expressed concerns in several tweets. What makes the Digidog a priority as opposed to underfunded schools, crime, and poverty. Here’s why the Digidog will take more than a bite out of crime.
Shout out to everyone who fought against community advocates who demanded these resources go to investments like school counseling instead.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 25, 2021
Now robotic surveillance ground drones are being deployed for testing on low-income communities of color with under-resourced schools 👍🏽 https://t.co/ZqKtnexctb
One could easily argue that Digidog should be in unsafe neighborhoods especially with gun violence on the increase in 2020 nationwide. Despite police shootings of unarmed civilians and police ranking 16th in fatalities for 1000 workers, it’s still a dangerous job. Digidog was used recently in a Bronx home invasion case which prompted AOC to comment since it’s her district.
But this is exactly the problem, Digidog seems to just make the police’s job even safer than it already is. America has always used impulsive backward thinking to solve the crime. Rather than get to the root of why crime is happening the police force wants to solve the crime after it occurs. If preventative medicine is better than the cure, doesn’t the same go for a crime?
Digidog will make sure police aren’t shot before they go inside a house but how will it help prevent a house from being broken into in the first place? While some say camera surveillance prevents crime, were not so sure. Some studies say over 50% of robbers flee the scene after noticing a camera on a property. However, this could simply mean that the potential for crime happened somewhere else near or surrounding the area.
More often than not people commit crimes due to poor-performing schools, and an unstable job economy or lack thereof. This begs the question, is Digidog just about crime? For the last decade, inner-city cities such as Chicago adopted mass surveillance systems in crime-ridden communities. This doesn’t seem to haven’t lowered the crime rate. As with the public housing crisis that plagued Chicago for decades, mass surveillance could be an experiment to study the movements of the residents.
Police could have established a security system rather than a Digidog that costs $75,000. A bill was written up called Rocco’s law after a k-9 was stabbed to death. In Pennslyvania, the bill states you can be sentenced to up to 45 years for killing a police dog. This probably more than all the police who have killed unarmed civilians combined.
Even if Digidog isn’t real, once it’s adopted by the police, it might as well be. So in the future may be destroying a Digidog won’t get you decades in Jail since it’s not real, but expect a harsh penalty still.
In conclusion, while Digidog may help solve a crime, it won’t do much to prevent it. The mass surveillance in crime-ridden communities hasn’t really made a difference because the educational system and the job market don’t get funding. However, if you are living affluent and feel this doesn’t affect you. Just remember this is only a test and experiment, it’s only a matter of time before it comes to your neighborhood.
How effective is Digidog in solving and/or preventing crime in your opinion? Let us know in the comment section below.