Some of the world’s largest robot manufacturers have shared an open letter on the weaponization of robots. The manufacturers emphasized that they would not support weaponization in any way.
While robot technologies have reached a highly advanced point today, we can now see some robots in our daily lives.
On the other hand, advanced robots were seen in various parts of the world armed with weapons to kill people, apart from humanitarian tasks. Today, an open letter came from the world’s giant robot manufacturers against the weaponization of robots. Robot manufacturers, including Boston Dynamics, emphasized that robots should not be armed.
Robot manufacturers’ statement on armament:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bgad3HRb64
“We are some of the world’s leading companies dedicated to introducing the next generation of advanced mobile robots to society. These next-generation robots are more accessible, easier to use, more autonomous, cost-effective, adaptable and capable of navigating locations that were previously inaccessible to automated or remotely controlled technologies. We believe that advanced mobile robots will greatly benefit society as coworkers in industry and companions in our homes.
As with any new technology that offers new capabilities, the emergence of advanced mobile robots presents the possibility of misuse. Untrusted individuals could use them to violate 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 operated remotely or autonomously, are widely available to the public, and can go to previously inaccessible places where people live and work, poses new risks of harm and serious ethical issues. Weaponized applications of these newly capable robots would undermine the enormous benefits they would bring to society, as well as undermine public trust in the technology. For these reasons, we do not support the weaponization of our general-purpose robots with enhanced mobility. For those of us who have spoken out on this issue in the past, and for those interested for the first time, we now feel a renewed sense of urgency in light of the growing public concern in recent months caused by the small number of people who have visibly announced their tentative efforts to weaponize commercially sold robots.
We pledge that we will not weaponize our general-purpose robots with enhanced mobility or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics, nor will we support others to do so. When possible, we will carefully scrutinize our customers’ intended applications to prevent potential weaponization. We also commit to explore the development of technological features that can reduce or mitigate these risks. To be clear, we are not interested in existing technologies that nations and government agencies use to defend themselves and enforce their laws.
We understand that our commitment alone is not enough to fully address these risks, and so we urge lawmakers to work with us to promote the safe use and prohibit the misuse of these robots. We also urge every organization, developer, researcher, and user in the robotics community to make similar commitments to not attach, authorize, support, or enable weapons on such robots. We believe the benefits of these technologies for humanity far outweigh the risk of misuse, and we are excited about a bright future where humans and robots work side by side to overcome some of the world’s hardships.”
In addition to Boston Dynamics, the letter was signed by Agility Robotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics, Unitree and ANYbotics.