A total of six major robotics companies have co-signed an open letter pledging not to weaponise their robots.
The firms include Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics and Unitree.
The open letter also encourages other manufacturers to follow their example: “We are some of the world’s leading companies dedicated to introducing new generations of advanced mobile robotics to society. These new generations of robots are more accessible, easier to operate, more autonomous, affordable, and adaptable than previous generations, and capable of navigating into locations previously inaccessible to automated or remotely-controlled technologies,” said the letter.
In the letter, the six companies said they were “convinced” that the benefits of such technologies were far greater than “risks of misuse”.
The letter also stated: “As with any new technology offering new capabilities, the emergence of advanced mobile robots offers the possibility of misuse. Untrustworthy people could use them to invade civil rights or to threaten, harm, or intimidate others. One area of particular concern is weaponisation. 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.”
The companies explained that they would closely look at customer intentions, where possible, to avoid the spread of weaponisation. The letter also pointed to how weaponisation can lead to public mistrust, which the manufacturers want to avoid.
Claiming that their commitment alone is not enough, the companies ended the letter with a “call on policymakers to work with us to promote safe use of these robots and to prohibit their misuse” and that robots could hold the key to combatting some of the world’s greatest challenges.
