The new warning system in New York was supposed to alert residents about dangerous situations, but something went awry with the language settings of the drones.
Specifically, on Wednesday, during a storm warning, the drones communicated in English and Spanish — with the latter being incomprehensible even to native speakers, as one resident noted on Twitter.
As a Spanish speaker, I can confidently say that this is incomprehensible. The city couldn't find a single person who spoke Spanish to deliver this alert? https://t.co/uI9ERCuDmV
— Josefa Velásquez (@J__Velasquez) August 6, 2024
It sounded as though the robotic voice was reading Spanish for the very first time. The situation could have been amusing if the drones had been announcing something trivial, but their primary role is to warn people about dangers and, in some cases, about evacuation.
Zak Iscol, the commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Department, acknowledged the mistake in a response on X:
“I am very proud of the work our team did to prepare for this storm, but this situation should not have happened and we will ensure it does not occur again,” Iscol wrote.
News about the new drone alert system was first reported by the New York Times on Tuesday. The drones were launched around 1:00 PM to give residents time to prepare for the severe storm. The idea for deploying the drones came from New York Mayor Eric Adams, who previously initiated the deployment of a security robot patrolling the Times Square subway station, along with the controversial 'Spot Robot,' also known as 'Digidog,' for the New York Police Department.
Source: Engadget
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