Singapore is reportedly using robots to monitor "undesirable social behavior" among residents. The city-state is known for its efficient policing and relatively low crime rate, but privacy has been a long-standing concern among its citizens who have to deal with surveillance almost on a daily basis. The city is said to be dotted with around 90,000 police cameras which are set to be doubled by the end of the decade, and as if that's not enough, there are harsh penalties, including jail times and crippling fines for minor crimes and misdemeanors.
Singapore is home to around 5.5 million people who have long complained against the growing consumerist authoritarianism in the country, but complaints from privacy activists and civil liberties groups have thus far had little effect on how the government monitors its citizens. The move to introduce robots to patrol city streets is another addition to the already substantial list of surveillance activities being undertaken by the Singapore government, and one that, understandably, has its own share of critics.
Named 'Xavier,' the robots employed by the Singapore authorities are four-wheeled AI-powered surveillance devices equipped with 7 cameras each to monitor traffic infractions, such as illegal parking and motorcycles on footpaths, or misdemeanors like smoking in prohibited areas or flouting Covid protocols. They are tasked with blasting warning messages at people who are seen to be breaking rules in any way. The initial 3-week trial started last month with two robots in a housing estate and a shopping center, with plans to roll them out more widely across the city in the coming weeks and months.
Citizens Are Complaining About Surveillance
While the government insists that the robots are there to maintain law and order, many residents see them as one more surveillance tool for the government. Some, like 34-year-old research assistant Frannie Teo, said the devices make her worried about a "dystopian world of robots". Talking to the AFP about the new law-enforcement agents in town, she said they remind her of Robocop and she's "hesitant about that kind of concept." Digital rights activist Lee Yi Ting also claimed that the new technology is a violation of people's privacy, saying it is the latest way for the government to surveil its citizens.
On its part, the government has defended its use of the robots, saying they are not being used for surveillance purposes. According to Ong Ka Hing, a spokesperson from the government agency that developed the robots, the new tech could help address the labor shortage in the police force by reducing the number of officers needed to efficiently patrol the city streets. The robots also seem to have their supporters, with an engineer named Fu Suan Kian telling the AFP that the new technology may actually be helpful from the security perspective. "If anything happens, you still got the footage to track back," they said.
Source: EuroNews