Boston Dynamics and other industry heavyweights pledge not to build war robots

The days of Spot operating as a weapons platform and training alongside Special Forces operators are already coming to an end; Atlas as a stunning soldier of fortune will never happen. Their manufacturer, Boston Dynamics, along with five other industry leaders announced on Thursday that they would not pursue or allow the weaponization of their robots, according to a non-binding open letter they all signed.

Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics and Unitree Robotics have all joined Boston Dynamics as part of the deal. "We believe that adding weapons to robots that are remotely or autonomously operated, widely accessible to the public, and able to navigate to previously inaccessible places where people live and work, raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues," the band wrote. "The militarized applications of these newly capable robots will also harm public confidence in the technology in ways that will undermine the enormous benefits they will bring to society."

The group cites "growing public concern in recent months caused by a small number of individuals who have visibly gone public with their makeshift efforts to arm commercially available robots", such as Ghost Robotics' Armed Spot, or the Dallas PD's use of an EOD bomb disposal robot as an IED to explain why they felt the need to take that stance.

To that end, the industry group pledges "not to weaponize our advanced mobility general-purpose robots or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics and we will not help others to do so." They will also not allow their customers to subsequently weaponize the rigs sold to them, where possible. This is a big caveat given the long and storied history of weapons such as the Toyota Technical, former Hilux pickups converted into DIY war machines that have been a mainstay in asymmetric conflict since the 80s. /p>

“We are also committed to exploring the development of technology capabilities that could mitigate or reduce these risks,” the group continued, but “to be clear, we do not challenge existing technologies that nations and their government agencies use. to defend themselves and respect their laws." They also call on policy makers as well as the rest of the robotics development community to make similar commitments.

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