ED-209 in RoboCop (1987)
Perhaps the single most persuasive argument against the use of artificial intelligence in policing comes in the Robocop scene when the ED-209, the “enforcement droid” designed for “urban pacification,” gives a little demonstration of its supposed policing skills… and utterly annihilates a corporate suit volunteering to play an “arrest subject.”
The subject, Mr. Kinney, is given a gun to point at ED-209, which then politely orders him to drop the weapon — and gives him 20 seconds to comply. He does! He really does. But a growling ED-209 doesn’t see Mr. Kinney drop the gun, and goes way overboard in its handling of the situation.
ED-209 isn’t just a robotic killer… he’s a dumb robotic killer. Despicable.
Share:
