Tech in San Francisco comes and goes, some is fleeting like the google glasses, and some forever-here like self-check out stands at the grocery store. The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals recently came under fire for using some new tech in a controversial manner. They employed a robot, to help them keep the streets surrounding their facility more safe.
Homelessness in San Francisco is nothing new, and one cannot blame problems that homelessness brings (such as urine, feces, and hypodermic needles on the streets) directly on tech. However, it is natural to question wether we would we have so many homeless if the tech boom hadn't brought the prices of rent to $1800 a month just to share a room.
The homeless people were exactly the problem that the SFSPCA was trying to solve, and they used tech to do it. They hired a 400 pound robot that can scan 100 licence plates a minute, has facial recognition features and can alert the authorities, for a mere $7 an hour. This is compared to the $15 an hour minimum San Francisco wage that might pay for a living in a different part of the country, but leaves you cold and hungry in San Francisco.
This self charging robot was employed to help curb the break ins in the surrounding area which were being caused in part by the large transient community near by and to also help appeal to potential volunteers of the SPCA.
The project sorely flopped.
Its hard to tell if it was the people of San Francisco as a whole, or just a few really loud voices, but the robot was taken out of commission. Not only was it accused of stealing jobs, it was also accused of accosting people. The City ruled that the SPCA could not use this private security bot to keep its streets safe, and even went as far as imposing a fine on them.
Unfortunately, the local authorities did not offer any alternate solutions to the problem the SPCA faces. It appears as if the SPCA volunteer dog walkers will have to continue walking the puppies through human feces.
