Robot manufacturers vow not to weaponize their inventions. This is coming as a group of robotics companies say that tech leaders need to assure that robots are not used for ulterior purposes.
Robot Manufacturers Vow Not to Weaponize Their Inventions
Boston dynamics and five other robotics companies have all signed a pledge – promising not to weaponize their general-purpose products and also asking other companies in the industry to make the same commitment.
The companies signing the pledge which include Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Unitree, and Open Robotics all say that although robots have come a long way on most recent years and also are capable of doing a lot of good, there is still a potential for misuse.
They said in the hands of the wrong people robots could be used to infringe on civil rights or otherwise ‘threaten, harm or intimidate’ people. One major concern is the potential of weaponization.
The Official Pledge by the Robotics Companies
In their pledge, the group wrote: “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.”
This very pledge is coming days just after Elon Musk, CEO of Telsa unveiled his company’s Telsa Bot, which is a robot code-named Optimus that he also claims could cost up to $20,000 and that it could be released within the space of three to five years.
Boston Dynamics Has Been Testing Out Its Humanlike Atlas Robot
Boston dynamics as a robotics company is well known for its doglike robot Spot which is used by the police and fire departments in giving remote visibility into potentially dangerous places where explosives, unstable structures, suspicious packages, or hazardous materials might be involved.
The company also has been testing out its very much humanlike Atlas robot. Last year a video showed the robot speeding through a parkour course.
