San Francisco lawmakers vote to ban killer robots in drastic U-turn

City's police department prohibited from using the 17 robots in its arsenal for lethal force after board of supervisors vote

San Francisco lawmakers voted to ban police robots from using deadly force on Tuesday, reversing course one week after officials had approved the practice and sparked national outrage.

The city's board of supervisors voted to explicitly prohibit the San Francisco police department (SFPD) from using the 17 robots in its arsenal to kill people. The board, however, also sent the issue back to a committee for further review, which means it could later decide to allow lethal force in some circumstances.