Technological advances, particularly in recent years with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) or unmanned aircraft, suggest that life will be easier for people, even if not everything is positive: delinquency and crime will be able to benefit from it.
This is according to a 48-page report published this week by Europol, the agency responsible for planning and coordinating investigations and operations against criminal and terrorist organizations in the European Union.
“Unmanned systems are used in various industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and more recently, warfare. These technologies are also increasingly being adopted by law enforcement for medical purposes. improve situational awarenessimprove security and extend operational reach,” the introduction states.
“However, their use raises concerns around security, privacy, data protection, regulatory challenges and the need to maintain public trust. This report from Europol’s Innovation Lab examines the impact of robotic systems and unmanned vehicles in law enforcement,” he continues.
The report shows “plausible future scenarios”where robots are “an integral part of daily life across Europe, gliding silently through shopping malls, delivering packages to fifth-floor apartments and cleaning public transport platforms at night.”
But this impulse could motivate sabotage campaigns against the machines. “In this climate of unrest, even minor malfunctions, like a hospital care robot administering the wrong medication, are amplified and become national scandals, fueling populist calls to “put people first,” the report says.
Another warning suggests cybercriminals could hijack AI-powered care robots, turning assistants into predators capable of collecting personal data or even manipulate vulnerable people.
The report also states that “the empathetic capabilities of social robots could, in the future, being abused by criminal actors and terrorists for various malicious activities.
The report states that “terrorist groups are prepared to launch swarms of pocket quadcopters controlled by artificial intelligence, recovered from the war in Ukraine, to sabotage electricity and water networks or to get criminals out of prison.
A Europol spokesperson stresses that the agency “we cannot predict the future” and said the aim of the document is simply “to anticipate plausible future scenarios that allow us to make more informed decisions today.”
In fact, the Mexican cartels and Islamic extremist networks They have already mastered the use of cheap drones, and security experts say governments need to wake up to this new era of terrorist technology.
Agents and machines working together
Europol insists that teamwork between humans and robots will be vital in future policing, where agents and machines You will respond to emergencies and gather evidence.
The police can order daily activities, such as routine patrol or traffic managementto mechanical substitutes.
But the report even mentions scenarios like the escape of confiscated robots, the difficulty of having to “interrogate a robot” or how police may have difficulty determining whether a self-driving car caused an accident by mistake or intentionally.
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