Boston Dynamics *really* does not want you to add weapons to its robots

Boston Dynamics and a number of other different robotics corporations have pledged to not weaponize “normal function robots” in line with an open letter launched publicly on Thursday and first reported by Axios. Though with sizable caveats in place, the letter focuses totally on unauthorized public misuse of their merchandise.

Within the letter, titled “Normal Objective Robots Ought to Not Be Weaponized,” six corporations (Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Boston Dynamics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree Robotics) spell out issues about “dangers of hurt and critical moral points” from the weaponization of their general-purpose merchandise, fearing that it’s going to “hurt public belief within the expertise.”

For his or her half, the robotic producers write, “We pledge that we are going to not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots or the software program we develop that permits superior robotics and we won’t assist others to take action.”

It has been a high-profile yr for improvised robotic weapons. In the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, information of makeshift bombers fabricated from off-the-shelf DJI quadcopter drones and munitions have made the rounds on social media. And in July, a widely circulated hobbyist video of a Unitree dogbot with a gun strapped to its again stirred up fears of “dystopian nightmare” within the press. On YouTube, you will discover a number of movies of individuals imitating the stunt in different situations.

The open letter appears to not directly deal with these latest media occasions, saying, “… we now really feel renewed urgency in gentle of the rising public concern in latest months attributable to a small quantity of people that have visibly publicized their makeshift efforts to weaponize commercially accessible robots.”

The letter’s particular concentrate on “advanced-mobility general-purpose robots” leaves room for interpretation relating to specialty robots designed for warfare or legislation enforcement, which the pledge doesn’t cowl. As a substitute, it primarily issues public use of “extensively accessible” robots and calls for presidency regulation: “We name on policymakers to work with us to advertise secure use of those robots and to ban their misuse.”

Boston Dynamics beforehand provided robots to police forces for unarmed makes use of, causing a backlash in New York Metropolis final yr, though the agency’s contract with the New York Police Division prohibited utilizing the Spot robotic as a weapon. On this level, the letter carves out a large exception to its pledge: “To be clear, we aren’t taking problem with current applied sciences that nations and their authorities businesses use to defend themselves and uphold their legal guidelines.”

You possibly can learn the full statement on the Boston Dynamics web site.