So far, the biggest innovations in AI have been software-based. We’re all familiar with chatbots (like ChatGPT), but we don’t see too many robots. Well, there’s a new AI-powered security robot in Kansas City that’s actually reducing crime.
Marshall is a 600lb AI-powered security robot that knows who YOU are
This is the kind of story that makes people fear the much-fabled robot uprising, but don’t worry. The Brywood shopping center in Kansas City has employed a security robot named Marshall. Its main duty is to monitor the perimeter of the shopping center.
If you have images of an anthropomorphic robot tackling robbers, it’s time for a reality check. Marshall was built on a smart car frame. It’s a large, 5-foot-tall robot on wheels that’s about as human-like as R2-D2. It rolls around the parking lot and patrols.
Marshall is not armed, there are no firearms or tasers onboard. If a crime occurs, Marshall’s job is to extract information on the perps and report it. For instance, the property manager noted a time that Marshall captured the license plate number of a get-away car. This helped law enforcement catch them.
It’s working!
It’s a pretty slow-going robot, but it’s actually been able to have an impact. The report says that it was able to reduce crime in the area by about 50%. That’s nothing to sneeze at. While there was some concern, the public has reacted rather positively toward it. Plenty of people remarked that it made them feel safe.
It monitors the parking lot 21 hours a day, and it only rests to charge for 15 to 30-minute intervals throughout the day. There’s a lot to love about the robot, but there are so few of them. According to the report, there are only two others in service, and they’re in government buildings.
It seems nice, but there’s a bit of a controversial issue
So, Marshall looks like a pretty neat robot, as it keeps crime down. However, AI is an expensive technology, and the average user winds up paying some of the price. We’re not talking about money, we’re talking about data. “He even knows who you are when you walk by,” said KMBC reporter Brian Johnson.
In the report, it explained that Marshall collects the IP addresses from your devices when you’re around it. This ticks all of the boxes that make us worry about how companies acquire our data.
Firstly, the data is taken without consent. Many of the people who go to that shopping center do not know that their IP address is being scooped up.
Also, after that data has been collected, we don’t know where it goes. That’s another issue. Does it stay locally on the robot? Is it destroyed after a certain amount of time? Does the robot send it off to some database? These are the questions that people should be asking.
Yes, it’s helping reduce crime, but the fact that it automatically takes data is cause to worry.
The post An actual AI-powered robot is reducing crime appeared first on Android Headlines.