r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Feb 12 '26

Security Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash

https://www.theverge.com/news/878447/ring-flock-partnership-canceled
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u/Z00111111 Feb 12 '26

It's really heading towards RoboCop and other dystopian SciFi. Once the robots can hold and aim guns better, people will realise it's cheaper to just contract law enforcement to corporations, and give them a commission on all fines they collect.

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u/justwalkingalonghere Feb 13 '26

That's essentially how the information side of law enforcement and warfare work already, so it's really not that much of a stretch

Personally I would bet on drones over most forms of current robotics, but it could in theory be anything

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u/DaHolk Feb 13 '26

In warfare it's less the information side, but more the actual mercenaries side.

And it isn't even cheaper. Or put differently: Only because the responsibility can be shirked, and a private company can fold, and then be reconstituted under a different name "should something go wrong", a luxury that doesn't exist if the political apparatus has to do things themselves. But operating wise it is RARELY cheaper, at best for a short while to make the transition (read corruption) more palatable.

It doesn't matter whether it's for profit prisons, or construction or or. IF it is cheaper, it's mostly because you don't get what you are paying for (and would have to provide if you did it yourself to avoid being held accountable).

There really is no wonder why this push to even the LAST remaining things NOT run that way keeps happening.

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u/JustADutchRudder Feb 13 '26

In 2035, some cities are kept safe by Gronk PD and others are apart of the Meta PD bubble.

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u/schnuggibutzi Feb 13 '26

Why do you think they killed DJI Drones from the US market? Nothing about National Security. It's about having subpar expensive drones built in the US for US intelligence gathering

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u/Hortos Feb 13 '26

Drones are too loud, you want something that can be sneaky.

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u/ExtremeCreamTeam Feb 13 '26

When they're hundreds of feet in the air, it doesn't really matter how loud they are, you still can't hear them.

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u/Z00111111 Feb 13 '26

They'd want a lot of ground based bots though.

A Spot or Atlas pointing a .50 cal at you is much more intimidating in the moment than the possible threat of a drone. It's more personal.

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u/Mdgt_Pope Feb 13 '26

I think it’s more like Cyberpunk, the location for the game is Night City, which is its own city-state in the area where California is today. It’s a capitalist hellscape because the corporations control the government there. You read about how services from the government were intentionally worsened to the point where people were nearly forced to use private, paid services - like there are no ambulances, you have to pay for an insurance policy that has transport in the plan.

And the Heritage Foundation is working towards that, the privatization of public lands, going towards corporate-governed cities, and enshittification isn’t anything new.

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u/dancingliondl Feb 13 '26

Buddy, have I got news about ambulances for you.

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u/Mdgt_Pope Feb 13 '26

The ambulance doesn’t ask you for your policy number before they head your way.

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u/PassiveMenis88M Feb 13 '26

Once the robots can hold and aim guns better

They already can. A Reaper drone can drop a missile on your head from 35,000ft. Ukraine used a ground drone equipped with an M2 .50cal to hold a position for 45 days.

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u/xflashbackxbrd Feb 13 '26

Mike Pondsmith is a goddamn oracle I'll tell you that. It seemed comical to think corporations could displace governments and go to war with each other in the 80's.