Robot Companies Pledge to Not Harm Humans Scream Duplicity

The top robot companies pledge not to weaponize their robots that harm the human race

Several robot companies pledge not to facilitate the weaponization of their all-purpose robots and have urged other firms to do the same. Let's not weaponize general-purpose robots, a statement that Boston Dynamics and five other robotics companies made in an open letter. Robot companies do not harm humans.

This is something that many of us were already tremblingly waiting for. Other top robot companies are encouraged to follow the same suit. The six top robot companies including Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree, claim that while advanced robots could have a significant positive impact on our daily lives at work and home, they could also be employed for evil intent. The companies agreed to refrain from turning their "advanced-mobility general-purpose robots" software that powers them into weapons. Additionally, they pledged to make every effort to prevent their clients from using their products as weapons.

Six of the top robotics companies pledge in an open statement that they would resist anyone that added weapons to their general-use technology.

The open letter, which was first reported by Axios, stated that adding weapons to robots that are widely accessible to the public, remotely or autonomously operated, and capable of navigating to previously inaccessible locations where people live and work, raises new risks of harm and serious ethical issues.

We also urge everyone in the robotics community—organizations, creators, researchers, and users—to make identical commitments not to create, approve, support, or facilitate the connection of weapons to such robots.

Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, and Unitree Robotics all signed the letter.

The co-signers also agreed to analyze requests for the purchase of their robots to prevent any potential weaponization and to look into potential future weaponization-related technological aspects.

To be clear, the letter stated that "we are not criticizing existing technologies that nations and their governmental institutions utilize to defend themselves and maintain their laws."

Boston Dynamics expressed its concern about plans to weaponize commercially accessible robots in a statement to Axios, saying that such advances would further erode public confidence in the technology.

According to the statement, "the public has to know they can trust it for this technology to be widely embraced throughout society." Therefore, we require a policy that forbids bad actors from abusing it.

According to NPR, emergency rooms have utilized Boston Dynamics' "Spot robot," a dog-like automaton, to inspect circumstances. According to the business, the robot was not intended for surveillance or to take the place of actual police personnel.

The backlash against Spot's use in public has previously occurred. A US$94,000 lease for Spot with Boston Dynamics was terminated by the New York Police Department in 2021 as a result of public outrage about excessively violent police force displays that violated people's privacy.

The six robotics companies wrote in their open letter that they are "excited about a bright future in which humans and robots work side by side to tackle some of the world's challenges" and that they are "convinced that the benefits for humanity of these technologies strongly outweigh the risk of misuse."

The prototype for Tesla's long-awaited new humanoid robot, named Optimus, was unveiled last week by billionaire CEO Elon Musk of the electric car company. The most recent anti-weaponization pledge was not signed by Tesla.

Ghost Robotics, which teamed with the Department of Homeland Security in February to deploy robots that patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, was another firm that declined to sign the promise.

There are no laws prohibiting the use of killer robots in warfare as far as conflict is concerned. According to CNBC, nations developing these techniques, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia, objected to a United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons' decision to reject a ban on the use and development of so-called slaughter bots last year.

The agreement the businesses signed "does not rule out future cooperation or collaboration with militaries or the defense sector," the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots claims. Last year, the organization referred to Hyundai's ownership in Boston Dynamics and mentioned how the automaker's Hyundai Rotem division develops autonomous weapon systems, tanks, and other kinds of armored vehicles.

he Campaign to Stop Killer Robots noted on its website that "this vow appears to apply solely to 'advanced mobility general-purpose robots and accompanying software'" after the announcement on Thursday.