Straight out of an episode of Black Mirror, New York’s police department first revealed its robot dog unit “Digidog” back in December 2020, and a new video of it in action is again causing a stir.

Footage posted to Facebook on Monday shows NYPD officers leading a handcuffed suspect out of a building as a crowd of onlookers watch.

The officers are then followed by Digidog and its operators, the machine purposefully prowling past the crowd across the rain-slick paving.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life,” says the person filming the video.

Reaction online to the post ranged from confusion to “Get ready for terminators soon smfh” and “We really in our last days”.

The 70-pound robotic dog was outfitted with lights, cameras, and artificial intelligence.

The four-legged device had only gone into and out of the building’s lobby without playing an active role in the operation, the police said. Still, its mere presence at a public housing building ignited a fierce backlash, with many people condemning it as a stark example of police power and misplaced priorities even as calls to address both roil the United States.

RUSSIAN ROBOT BEING TRAINED TO SHOOT GUNS

Russia’s space-bound humanoid robot FEDOR is being trained to shoot guns from both of its hands.

The activity will help improve the android’s motor skills and decision-making, according to its creators, who have also tried to address concerns that they’re developing a real-life Terminator.

“Robot platform F.E.D.O.R. showed shooting skills with two hands,” wrote Russia’s deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, on Twitter. Mr. Rogozin also posted a short clip showing FEDOR in action, firing a pair of guns at a target board, alongside the message, “Russian fighting robots – guys with iron nature.”

Mr. Rogozin was reported to have shot himself in the foot back in 2015, shortly after tweeting support for America's National Rifle Association, though a spokesperson from his office said he hurt himself while playing handball. It’s being developed by Android Technics and the Advanced Research Fund and has been taught a wide range of advanced skills.

It knows how to use keys and a variety of tools, screw-in light bulbs, and even drive a car.

The robot was originally created for rescue work, but military uses have also been suggested by engineers.

Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge, earlier this month said that machines could take over from humans within a few centuries.

He also said he believes that alien intelligence if it does exist, could be "electronic" and far better suited to space exploration than humans will ever be.

China Creates Its Own Digital Currency

China’s version of a digital currency is controlled by its central bank, which will issue the new electronic money. It is expected to give China’s government vast new tools to monitor both its economy and its people. By design, the digital yuan will negate one of bitcoin’s major draws: anonymity for the user.

Beijing is also positioning the digital yuan for international use and designing it to be untethered to the global financial system, where the U.S. dollar has been king since World War II. China is embracing digitization in many forms, including money, in a bid to gain more centralized control while getting a head start on technologies of the future that it regards as up for grabs.

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This pioneering approach should accelerate the elevation of the renminbi on the world stage. Some users outside China, particularly in the US, might be reluctant to use a digital currency controlled by China. However, early adoption in parts of Asia, Latin America, and Africa are likely to proceed significantly faster.