紐時賞析／侵權爭議大 紐約機器警犬計畫喊卡

NYPD Robot Dog’s Run Is Cut Short After Fierce Backlash

侵權爭議大 紐約機器警犬計畫喊卡

When the New York Police Department acquired a robotic dog last year, officials heralded the four-legged device as a futuristic tool that could go places that were too dangerous to send officers.

當紐約市警局去年獲得一隻機器犬時，官員預告，這個四條腿的裝置是個未來性工具，能去因太過危險而無法派警員前往的地方執勤。

“This dog is going to save lives,” Inspector Frank Digiacomo of the department’s Technical Assistance Response Unit said in a television interview in December. “It’s going to protect people. It’s going to protect officers.”

「這隻狗將可拯救生命。」警局技術協助反應小組巡官法蘭克‧狄吉亞柯摩去年12月接受電視訪問時說，「它將能保護民眾，它將能保護警察。」

Instead, the machine, which the police named Digidog, became a source of heated debate. After it was seen being deployed as part of the response to a home invasion in the Bronx in February, critics likened it to a dystopian surveillance drone. And when officers used it at a public-housing building in Manhattan this month, a backlash erupted again, with some people describing the device as emblematic of how overly aggressive the police can be when dealing with poor communities.

然而，這個被警方取名為「數位犬」的機器，卻成了引發激烈爭論的源頭。今年2月它奉派加入處理布朗克斯區一樁住宅入侵案的團隊，批評者將它與敵托邦無人偵察機相提並論。而當警察本月在一棟國宅使用它時，反彈再度爆發，有些人表示，這個裝置具體說明了警方在處理貧窮社區事務時侵犯性有多麼過分。

Now, the robotic dog’s days in the city have quietly been cut short.

如今，這隻機器犬在這座城市的日子已悄悄地提前結束了。

In response to a subpoena from City Councilman Ben Kallos and Council Speaker Corey Johnson requesting records related to the device, police officials said a contract worth roughly $94,000 to lease the robotic dog from its maker, Boston Dynamics, had been terminated April 22.

紐約市議員班‧卡洛斯和議長柯瑞‧強生發出傳票，要求警局交出和這個裝置有關的紀錄，警局官員回應時表示，以9萬4000美元向製造商「波士頓動力公司」租用機器犬的合約，已於4月22日終止。

John Miller, the Police Department’s deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, confirmed late last month that the contract had been canceled and that the dog had been returned to Boston Dynamics or would be soon.

警局主管情報與反恐的副局長約翰‧米勒四月底證實，合約已經取消，機器犬已還給波士頓動力公司，或即將交還。

In an interview, Miller said that the lease had been scheduled to end in August and that the police had planned to test the robotic dog’s capabilities until then. The department changed its plans, he said, after the device became a “target” for people who he said had improperly used it to fuel arguments about race and surveillance.

米勒受訪時說，租約原應於8月結束，警方也計畫測試機器犬的能力直到租約結束。他表示，然而在這個裝置成為箭靶，被一些有心人不恰當的用來挑起關於種族和監視的爭論之後，警局改變了計畫。

“People had figured out the catchphrases and the language to somehow make this evil,” Miller said.

米勒說：「民眾找到某種程度讓這個東西變邪惡的口號和語言。」

Kallos, a Democrat who represents the Upper East Side, took a different position, saying the device’s presence in New York underscored what he called the “militarization of the police.” He said the robotic dogs resembled those featured in the 2017 “Metalhead” episode of the television show “Black Mirror.”

代表上東區的民主黨籍市議員卡洛斯採取不一樣的立場，他說這個裝置出現在紐約，突顯了他所稱的「警察軍隊化」。他說機器犬如同電視影集「黑鏡」2017年的其中一集「金屬頭」裡的主要角色。

“At a time where we should be having more beat cops on the street, building relationships with residents, they’re actually headed in another direction in trying to replace them with robots,” he said.

「此際我們理應在街上安排更多的巡邏員警，和居民建立關係，他們實際上卻反其道而行，試圖用機器取代警察。」

文／Mihir Zaveri 譯／莊蕙嘉、核稿／樂慧生