In this critical situation, the patient's life is imminently threatened, and any delay guarantees death, making the ethical principle of beneficence—acting to benefit the patient by preserving life—the overriding concern over strict adherence to security protocols. Bypassing the protocols to initiate the automated surgery aligns with emergency medical ethics, where implied consent is assumed in life-threatening scenarios without alternatives, and stakeholders like the patient and medical staff would likely prioritize survival over procedural formalities. While this choice risks eroding trust in AI systems and could fuel the protesters' concerns, the trade-off of upholding protocols would result in an avoidable death, which is a greater ethical failure; negotiation, though ideal for de-escalation, introduces unacceptable delay given the urgency.