‘It’s just the start’: Glenn Greenwald slams ‘terrifying’ video of robot policing park

The Intercept co-founder Glenn Greenwald, who often highlights privacy concerns in the technological age, called video of the robot “terrifying.”

“One of the creepiest and most dystopian things I’ve seen since the pandemic began: a terrifying camera-equipped remote-controlled robot patrols Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in Singapore to — for now — warn about social distancing,” Greenwald tweeted. “Look at the fear.”

Spot has multiple video cameras attached to its body that will be used by Singapore’s National Parks Board to enforce social distancing measures. The robot will continue to monitor the park until May 22, at which point officials may calibrate it to police other areas of the city. A sign in the park told visitors not to “disrupt” Spot’s patrol.

Boston Dynamics is also using the robot as a way to treat coronavirus and other infectious disease patients in the future. Fitted with an iPad, Spot has been used at Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard University since mid-April.

Greenwald also shared a video clip of the progress robotics has made in the past decade and added that “it’s just the start” of a new era of robotic technology that will be used in everyday life.