Care2 Update, 10/2022 -- Great news! Multiple companies that manufacture robots, including the prominent Boston Dynamics, have pledged not to turn their robots into weapons or instruments of war-fighting. In an open letter, the companies emphasized the importance of ethics and doing no harm. This is a wonderful step, but as we all know, a pledge is just words -- it doesn't always translate into reality. We must keep up the pressure to ensure these companies do the right thing and refues to equip their robots with weapons!
The Association of the United States Army's annual conference this year featured a new product that was straight out of a dystopian movie -- militarized quadrupedal robots with guns attached to them. As if our current weapons of war aren't massively destructive enough, corporations are testing out weaponizing their robotic dogs and discussing potential military contracts for their use.
Sign now to demand Congress pass comprehensive legislation that makes it illegal to arm robot dogs!
Machines do not see us as people, making arming them even more dangerous than giving a gun to a human. We know that unchecked technological development has the potential to replicate our worst human social trends, with coders sounding the alarm on how facial recognition software is racist and A.I. able to learn dangerous conspiracy theories. On top of that, war is already a dehumanizing act – putting robots in charge without a human conscience has the potential to make killing even easier.
Luckily, other well-known robotics corporations -- including Boston Dynamics -- have strict policies against the weaponization of the machines they produce. But we can't rely on the benevolence of massively profitable companies, hoping that they will happen to do the right thing. The government must act before this equipment is developed en masse.
We cannot allow this rapidly growing robotics industry to continue production with so little regulation. Sign to tell Congress to act now and pass comprehensive legislation to make arming robots with weapons illegal!
Image taken from a YouTube video from The Independent.
