Through the looking glass: We're moving ever closer to a future in which law enforcement controls robots that can kill. But Atlanta has just recommended a new act that ensures this dystopian vision doesn't come to pass: the HALT (Human Authority over Lethal Technology) Act.
Introduced by Council member Liliana Bakhtiari, the act prohibits city employees and contractors, including police, from buying or otherwise acquiring weaponized autonomous systems, drones and remotely operated machines.
In addition to drones, these autonomous killing machines include robot dogs and military-like robots armed with weapons. The act specifically exempts machines used strictly for neutralizing explosives.
"This is about making sure that we are investing in technology with our officers, not replacing them, quite frankly, with 'RoboCop,'" Bakhtiari said.
While we're still not in the era of ED-209 asking people to put down their weapons (then killing them even if they do), Bakhtiari believes the act is a pre-emptive step to ensure this doesn't happen.
The act is also there to stop AI-powered machines from replacing the decision-making of trained Atlanta Police officers. Letting AI make potentially lethal decisions in war is something that militaries have spent years saying would never happen, but that scenario seems closer than ever.
"This is about responsible government, responsible stewardship. It's keeping community at the core of public safety," Bakhtiari told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "No machine should be given the ability to make lethal decisions."
Bakhtiari said she was prompted to introduce the act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of the new Autonomous Warfare Command, or AutoWarCom, in September. The command is supposed to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous and semi-autonomous systems. Hegseth also wants the services to introduce military specialties focused on autonomy, giving personnel dedicated career paths in this field.
"We know that this is coming because of the secretary's announcement," Bakhtiari told the AJC. "It is a hop, skip and a jump away from being utilized by municipalities."
City council members voted 15-0 to support the act.
In 2023, the San Francisco Police Department was given authority to use lethal robotic force against violent criminals under new city rules. However, the city reversed the ruling a week later following a public backlash, and it still prohibits robots that use deadly force.
Back in 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to use robot dogs in raids. Rather than being loaded with lethal weapons, the robots would be used to overload home networks, to provide video and audio of the scene, and to communicate with humans.