Boston Dynamics *really* does not want you to add weapons to its robots

According to an open letter released publicly on Thursday, Boston Dynamics and several other companies have pledged not to weaponize general purpose robot. Unauthorized public misuse of their products is the focus of the letter.

Six companies wrote a letter about the risks of harm and ethical issues from the weaponization of general purposerobots.

The robot manufacturers wrote, "We pledge that we will not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purposerobots or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics and we will not support others to do so."

Improvised robotic weapons have been in the news this year. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, news of makeshift bombs made of off-the-shelf drones and weapons made their way to social media. Fears of a "dystopian nightmare" were stirred up by a video of a Unitree dogbot with a gun strapped to it's back. You can find a lot of videos of people imitating stunts on the internet.

The open letter seemed to indirectly address these recent media events, saying, "We now feel renewed urgency in light of the increasing public concern in recent months caused by a small number of people who have publicly publicized their makeshift efforts to weaponize commercially availablerobots."

The pledge doesn't cover specialty robots designed for warfare or law enforcement, but the letter's focus on "advanced-mobility general-purposerobots" leaves room for interpretation. "We call on policymakers to work with us to promote safe use of theserobots and to prohibit their misuse."

The New York Police Department did not allow the Spot robot to be used as a weapon, despite Boston Dynamics supplying it to the NYPD. "We are not taking issue with existing technologies that nations and their government agencies use to defend themselves and uphold their laws," the letter says.

The full statement can be found on Boston Dynamics.