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Singapore is reportedly usingrobotsto monitor"undesirable social behavior"among residents . The city - state of matter is known for its effective policing and relatively modest offense pace , butprivacyhas been a long - stand concern among its citizens who have todeal with surveillancealmost on a daily basis . The city is said to be dotted with around 90,000 police camera which are set to be double by the end of the decade , and as if that ’s not enough , there are harsh penalties , include pokey times and crippling fines for underage crimes and misdemeanors .
Singapore is abode to around 5.5 million hoi polloi who have long complained against the growing consumerist authoritarianism in the nation , butcomplaints from privacy activistsand polite indecorum group have thus far had little effect on how the government monitors its citizens . The move to acquaint golem to police city street is another addition to the already substantial list of surveillance activities being undertaken by the Singapore government , and one that , intelligibly , has its own share of critic .
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Named ' Xavier , ' the golem employed by the Singapore authority are four - bicycle AI - powered surveillance gimmick equipped with 7 cameras each to supervise traffic infractions , such as illegal parking and motorcycles on footpaths , or misdemeanors like smoke in interdict area or scoff Covid communications protocol . They are tasked with blasting admonition messages at people who are seen to be get out rules in any way . The initial 3 - hebdomad trialstarted last monthwith two automaton in a housing land and a shopping center , with program to roll them out more widely across the city in the coming workweek and months .
Citizens Are Complaining About Surveillance
While the government activity insists that the robots are there to hold legal philosophy and order , many residents see them asone more surveillance toolfor the government . Some , like 34 - year - old research helper Frannie Teo , order the devices make her worried about a"dystopian world of robots " . Talking to theAFPabout the new law - enforcement agentive role in town , she say they prompt her ofRobocopand she’s"hesitant about that kind of concept . “Digital rights militant Lee Yi Ting also take that the fresh applied science is a violation of the great unwashed ’s seclusion , saying it is the later means for the governance to surveil its citizen .
On its part , the government has oppose its use of the robot , say they are not being used for surveillance determination . allot to Ong Ka Hing , a spokesperson from the government agency thatdeveloped the robot , the novel tech could help address the labor shortage in the police force military unit by lose weight the number of officers require to efficiently patrol the city street . The automaton also seem to have their supporter , with an technologist make Fu Suan Kian telling the AFP that the new technology may actually be helpful from the security department perspective . “If anything happens , you still got the footage to track back,“they say .
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reservoir : EuroNews
