We’ve all seen Black Mirror, right? Remember that one episode from season 3 that was shot entirely in black and white? The post-apocalyptic episode where humans were on the run from literal death robots that could gun them down within seconds. Well, Boston Dynamics has recently published an open letter pledging that they will not weaponize their general purpose robots. So hopefully, we’ll never have to deal with a Metalhead situation.
The open letter wasn’t just a pledge from the company, it was also a plea to the rest of their peers and competitors in the industry:
“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.”
In addition to the pledge, the company has also stated a commitment to reviewing customer plans before selling their products, so as to ensure that they’re not being sold to individuals with plans to weaponize them. This isn’t a foolproof plan, of course, as there are undoubtedly ways around such a policy if a buyer was committed enough.
Still, the company believes that commercial general purpose robots still have a ways to go before becoming broadly accepted in society, and so, such policies surrounding their weaponization need to be implemented.
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