4 ms·

Great comment. I think this is an underappreciated trend. Technology is enabling actions that were previously unfathomable, due to limited resources and circums

Great comment. I think this is an underappreciated trend. Technology is enabling actions that were previously unfathomable, due to limited resources and circumstantial practicalities. Modern systems are much more powerful (in certain ways), enabling potential injustices that no one ever considered possible, and thus of course made no effort to protect against. We are only beginning to consider all of the ramifications of these new systems, what new abuses are available, what the impacts could may be, and how to properly account for new abuses. We have to work hard to make sure our systems don't enable large-scale automated injustice.

reilly3000 8y ago
I just got a $136 ticket from a stoplight camera for failing to Completely Stop at an intersection where there were no other cars for at least 1 mile in any direction, and made a right turn on red at about 3mph. It is serviced by a company 6 states away. Automated injustice is very alive today.
- colek42 8y ago
  I am waiting for these devices to be declared unconstitutional. Many states already have.
- rangibaby 8y ago
  So you ran a red light? Everyone has a justification for their own behavior
  - markrages 8y ago
    You just might be an authoritarian. https://www.theauthoritarians.org https://www.theauthoritarians.org
  - gallopingcomp 8y ago
    That's not quite the same as running a red light. In many places in the US, it is legal to make a right turn when the traffic light is right, provided that you slow down to a complete stop first. In practice, if there aren't any cars or pedestrians around, many people just slow down to ~3mph and keep going (a "rolling" stop, which is not quite legal).
- jonnybgood 8y ago
  Why is getting a ticket for a rolling stop injustice?
  - stickfigure 8y ago
    The serious answer to this is a sort of echo of the root comment in this thread. Our legal system incorporates the understanding that laws can only be partially enforced. Imagine if robots in the sky automatically cited you for every single infraction. How often do you cross the street outside of a crosswalk? Exceed the speed limit by 1mph? Fail to signal a turn? Drive a block or two without fastening your seatbelt? Yeah, rolling through a stop at 3mph in the middle of nowhere probably isn't great, but it's not what folks hand in mind when they created the penalties for running red lights. An officer probably wouldn't have bothered to make the stop. But in a world where law enforcement is automated, 99.9% of citations will be these marginal cases.
    - dvtrn 8y ago
      An officer probably wouldn't have bothered to make the stop If I had a dollar for every DUI story I've heard that involved getting pulled over "a block from home" after rolling through a stop sign.. I don't necessarily disagree with your point but I've seen and been on the receiving end of what could only described as "bored cop"
      - nathan_long 8y ago
        > If I had a dollar for every DUI story I've heard that involved getting pulled over "a block from home" after rolling through a stop sign.. If a cop suspects DUI, I want that driver pulled over even if they're entering their own driveway. "But I wasn't going to put any more people's lives in mortal danger by my recklessness tonight" is not a good argument. And keeping people from recklessly endangering others, whether by penalties that make them think twice or by taking their license, is one of the most basic reasons we have police at all.
        dvtrn 8y ago
- chronolitus 8y ago
  This[1] was on the front page of hacker news the other day. [1] https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/courtroom-files/ny-man-arrested-for-cutting-wires-to-red-light-cameras-exposing-revenue-scheme-TmvQ7-MX9U-VXG26D11tdg/ https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/courtroom-files/ny-man-arrest...

reilly3000 8y ago

I just got a $136 ticket from a stoplight camera for failing to Completely Stop at an intersection where there were no other cars for at least 1 mile in any direction, and made a right turn on red at about 3mph. It is serviced by a company 6 states away. Automated injustice is very alive today.

colek42 8y ago
I am waiting for these devices to be declared unconstitutional. Many states already have.
rangibaby 8y ago
So you ran a red light? Everyone has a justification for their own behavior
- markrages 8y ago
  You just might be an authoritarian. https://www.theauthoritarians.org https://www.theauthoritarians.org
- gallopingcomp 8y ago
  That's not quite the same as running a red light. In many places in the US, it is legal to make a right turn when the traffic light is right, provided that you slow down to a complete stop first. In practice, if there aren't any cars or pedestrians around, many people just slow down to ~3mph and keep going (a "rolling" stop, which is not quite legal).
jonnybgood 8y ago
Why is getting a ticket for a rolling stop injustice?
- stickfigure 8y ago
  The serious answer to this is a sort of echo of the root comment in this thread. Our legal system incorporates the understanding that laws can only be partially enforced. Imagine if robots in the sky automatically cited you for every single infraction. How often do you cross the street outside of a crosswalk? Exceed the speed limit by 1mph? Fail to signal a turn? Drive a block or two without fastening your seatbelt? Yeah, rolling through a stop at 3mph in the middle of nowhere probably isn't great, but it's not what folks hand in mind when they created the penalties for running red lights. An officer probably wouldn't have bothered to make the stop. But in a world where law enforcement is automated, 99.9% of citations will be these marginal cases.
  - dvtrn 8y ago
    An officer probably wouldn't have bothered to make the stop If I had a dollar for every DUI story I've heard that involved getting pulled over "a block from home" after rolling through a stop sign.. I don't necessarily disagree with your point but I've seen and been on the receiving end of what could only described as "bored cop"
    - nathan_long 8y ago
      > If I had a dollar for every DUI story I've heard that involved getting pulled over "a block from home" after rolling through a stop sign.. If a cop suspects DUI, I want that driver pulled over even if they're entering their own driveway. "But I wasn't going to put any more people's lives in mortal danger by my recklessness tonight" is not a good argument. And keeping people from recklessly endangering others, whether by penalties that make them think twice or by taking their license, is one of the most basic reasons we have police at all.
      - dvtrn 8y ago
chronolitus 8y ago
This[1] was on the front page of hacker news the other day. [1] https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/courtroom-files/ny-man-arrested-for-cutting-wires-to-red-light-cameras-exposing-revenue-scheme-TmvQ7-MX9U-VXG26D11tdg/ https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/courtroom-files/ny-man-arrest...