On Thursday, Boston Dynamics and five other robotics companies pledged not to weaponize “general purpose robots,” according to an open letter.
“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.”
– Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Boston Dynamics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree Robotics
The robot makers are concerned that the weaponization of their general purpose products will bring “risks of harm and serious ethical issues” and “harm public trust in the technology.”
In July, a video of a Unitree dogbot with a gun strapped to its back circulated social media, stirring up fears of a “dystopian nightmare.”