Boston Dynamics abandons development of combat robots

A coalition of six robotics companies has pledged not to develop or support the use of their devices and software for military purposes.

The accompanying open letter was signed by Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics and Unitree Robotics.

“We believe that arming remotely or autonomously controlled robots, widely accessible to the public and able to move in complex locations where people live and work, creates new risks of harm and serious ethical issues,” the group said.

The coalition also said that deploying smart machines for military purposes could undermine public trust in technology and the enormous advantages that they could bring to humanity.

The alliance cites growing public concern over efforts by individuals, manufacturers and organisations to turn commercially available devices into weapons. An example of such actions could be оборудованная rifle-wielding Ghost Robotics robot dog.

The coalition pledged not to use their high-mobility general-purpose devices and the software they develop for military purposes, and declined to support other industry players in doing so.

They also said they would not allow customers to deploy the platforms they bought from them as weapons where feasible.

“We commit to exploring the development of technological features that could mitigate or reduce these risks,” the alliance added.

However, the group clarified that it does not challenge existing developments that states and their governmental bodies use for self-defence and to comply with the law.

The companies urged policymakers and other robotics manufacturers to adopt similar commitments.

In December 2021, Li Sun spoke out against the use of AI in military purposes.

In the same month, The Future of Life Institute released a short film urging to ban autonomous weapons from killing people.

In June, the UN recorded the first case in history of a combat drone killing a person without a direct order from an operator. In response, Human Rights Watch called for a ban on developing, producing and using autonomous weapons.

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