Bethesda Dynamics Robotics Company

The mayor’s office was elegant and pristine. It was narrow but long, furnished with dark wood walls.A nice big window looking into the city was the back wall. The aesthetic it conveyed was the nobility of public service, all the while being tax payer funded.

“No more racism?” The mayor proposed the question while flipping through a sales brochure.

“That’s right sir! Bethesda Dynamics Robotics provide the ultimate answer in anti prejudice policing.” The Bethesda sales representative Sid answered eagerly.

“Your proposal is kind of high. Not sure the base will approve it.” The mayor dismissed.

“It is a high up front cost. But, what is the price of safety though? Our robots can decrease response times by up to forty percent. The non lethal compliance protocols have a ninety six percent pass rate. Your current LEO to civilian ratio is one to a thousand. With our system we can have this city at one to hundred. One law enforcement officer to every one hundred citizens. All the while saving the tax payers money, by limiting the number of pensions, workers comp, and other related human resource costs. These machines have a continual service life of 98 hours between 1 sixty minute charge.”

“What about glitches? What if the system crashes? What then?” The mayor questioned.

“Cyber security is our number one concern. Which is why we have a dedicated satellite server with quad terabyte encryption. On top of that each drone is equipped with a hard memory processor which if the link is damaged, the system locks itself, and follows fail safe protocols. That’s just a fancy way of saying if our connection is interrupted, it turns into a two hundred pound paper weight.You really can’t lose. More man power, at less of a cost! Fewer complaints against the city’s police department! Increase in ticket revenue.” Sid had a spiel prepared.

“No other city has done this.” The mayor reclined back in his chair.

“True, but being first means taking risks. Which our robots will not be. One of our drones can access every cc camera, and security system within a quarter mile radius. This means that with advanced facial recognition programming our robots can have a ninety nine percent accuracy in correctly apprehending suspects. How many of your peace officers can say that?” The salesman was eager to land this contract.

“There is something, I am just not sure of. These things couldn’t kill anyone could they?” The mayor spoke skeptically.

“The military has exclusivity on our lethal variants. With the machines you will be receiving they will be solely for restraint, not anti personnel. So this means that there are certain restrictions on force production in clenches. To answer your question, Yes our machines can kill. No, you are not getting those machines though.” The sales representative added.

“How would these machines judge complicated split second decisions, better than a person and instincts?” The mayor criticized.

“We’ve thought that a lot. But could you gauge the tensile strength of a steel frame at 600 degrees Fahrenheit, at a moments notice? Our drones have sensors which do. Meaning they don’t have to follow instincts, they can follow the highest probability for success.” The salesman clarified.

“I just don’t trust a computer. I like the human aspect. A human has empathy. A computer can’t do that!” The mayor complained.

“Tell me Mr. Mayor how do you get to your office?” The sales representative questioned.

“What’s that have to do with anything?” The mayor responded.

“Just answer the question your excellency.” The Bethesda sales person suggested.

“Well, I drove here.” The mayor humored him.

“What is the purpose of a car Mr. Mayor?” Sid quizzed.

“Transportation.” The mayor asserted.

“Correct you are sir. And you trust your car don’t you?” Sid suggested.

“Yes. I love my car.” The mayor agreed.

“Then you trust a computer to do it’s duty sir. Security and enforcement is our duty.” Sid admitted.

“Ok, Ok, Ok. I don’t want to be on the wrong side of this.” The mayor nodded and got his pen ready.

:: A couple months later::

“Man I love these new cyber cops!” The citizens.

::A few more months later::

“It was great at first, but it seems like these days they are just policing for profit.I got thirteen citations for laws I didn’t even know existed!” A concerned street resident.

::One year later::

“Yes, there has been some adjustments. Progress, right? I mean I feel so safe the one hour a day I am allotted to go outside. Maybe next month, my social credit score will be high enough, I can have two hours outside!” A city inhabitant.

::Three years later::

“Oh man I was on the wrong side it.” The mayor admitted whilst being led by his robotic assistant for his mandatory cardiovascular activity.