Boston Dynamics and other firms making the same pledge include Agility Robotics and Unitree Robotics, which provided a bot model outfitted with a machine gun and then an RPG launcher
Boston Dynamics, the designers of the well-known quadrupedal robot Spot, have committed not to weaponize their most advanced robots. However, the vow is unlikely to prevent the widespread weaponization of this technology.
In an open letter to the whole robotics industry (first reported by Axios), the firms stated that “putting weapons to remotely or autonomously operated robots… creates additional dangers of harm and serious ethical considerations.”
“We pledge that we will not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots”
“We pledge that we will not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics and we will not support others to do so,” say the letter’s signatories: Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree Robotics.
The letter comes as concerns grow about how military and law enforcement may utilise a new breed of highly mobile, self-driving robots developed in recent years. These include bipedal machines and quadrupedal bots (such as those developed by Boston Dynamics, ANYbotics, and Unitree) (like the Digit robot, built by Agility Robotics).
Boston Dynamics, which is owned by Hyundai, has received special scrutiny as the creator of the most well-known quadrupedal robot, Spot. The company’s robots have also been tested for use by police departments (including the NYPD, but unsuccessfully) and the French military. In all situations, the robots were not weaponized, but rather utilised for reconnaissance while being remotely controlled by humans.
Notably, Boston Dynamics’ early research was nearly exclusively funded by the US military. The US Army believed it could deploy the company’s experimental, larger robots as pack mules, transporting infantry troops’ supplies. However, because to the machines’ excessive noise, Boston Dynamics abandoned their development and shifted to commercial sales.
The letter’s signatories had no objections to “current technologies.”
The open letter issued last week makes no mention of such applications. “To be clear, we are not opposing existing technology used by nations and government agencies to defend themselves and uphold their laws,” it says. The letter simply promises not to weaponize robots, but it clearly leaves the door open to the machines being deployed for surveillance and reconnaissance alongside army forces or police officials.
Notably absent among the letter’s signatories is the US firm Ghost Robotics, which also manufactures quadrupedal robots and has focused on military and government sales. The company’s bots are being tested for base patrol by the US Space Force and US Air Force, as well as for border patrol by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Arms manufacturers have also fitted Ghost Robotics’ robots with weapons, and the company’s CEO, Jiren Parikh, has stated that the company never tries to limit clients’ usage.
“Because we’re selling to the military, we don’t know what they do with them,” Parikh told TechCrunch. “We’re not going to dictate to our government customers how they use the robots. We do draw the line on where they’re sold. We only sell to U.S. and allied governments.”
This implies that, while Boston Dynamics and the other signatories to this week’s letter may have halted one avenue for robot weaponization, the broader acceptance of this technology is unlikely to be affected.
The letter is available in its entirety below:
An Open Letter to the Robotics Industry and our Communities,
General Purpose Robots Should Not Be Weaponized
We are some of the world’s leading companies dedicated to introducing new generations of advanced mobile robotics to society. These new generations of robots are more accessible, easier to operate, more autonomous, affordable, and adaptable than previous generations, and capable of navigating into locations previously inaccessible to automated or remotely-controlled technologies. We believe that advanced mobile robots will provide great benefit to society as co-workers in industry and companions in our homes.
As with any new technology offering new capabilities, the emergence of advanced mobile robots offers the possibility of misuse. Untrustworthy people could use them to invade civil rights or to threaten, harm, or intimidate others. One area of particular concern is weaponization. We believe that adding weapons to robots that are remotely or autonomously operated, widely available to the public, and capable of navigating to previously inaccessible locations where people live and work, raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues. Weaponized applications of these newly-capable robots will also harm public trust in the technology in ways that damage the tremendous benefits they will bring to society. For these reasons, we do not support the weaponization of our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots. For those of us who have spoken on this issue in the past, and those engaging for the first time, we now feel renewed urgency in light of the increasing public concern in recent months caused by a small number of people who have visibly publicized their makeshift efforts to weaponize commercially available robots.
We pledge that we will not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics and we will not support others to do so. When possible, we will carefully review our customers’ intended applications to avoid potential weaponization. We also pledge to explore the development of technological features that could mitigate or reduce these risks. To be clear, we are not taking issue with existing technologies that nations and their government agencies use to defend themselves and uphold their laws.
We understand that our commitment alone is not enough to fully address these risks, and therefore we call on policymakers to work with us to promote safe use of these robots and to prohibit their misuse. We also call on every organization, developer, researcher, and user in the robotics community to make similar pledges not to build, authorize, support, or enable the attachment of weaponry to such robots. We are convinced that the benefits for humanity of these technologies strongly outweigh the risk of misuse, and we are excited about a bright future in which humans and robots work side by side to tackle some of the world’s challenges.
Signed,
Boston Dynamics
Agility Robotics
ANYbotics
Clearpath Robotics
Open Robotics
Unitree Robotics