Boston Dynamics, other companies pledge not to 'weaponize' robots

That was the crux of the message a coalition of robotics companies including the famed Boston Dynamics put out in an open letter with the eye-catching subject line "General Purpose Robots Should Not Be Weaponized." The Waltham-headquartered Boston Dynamics is attempting to, well, terminate the idea that its internet-celebrity robot "dogs" and other automatons will be armed to the teeth, and it, alongside other major robotics companies, is encouraging others to do the same. "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 wrote in the joint letter posted online on Thursday. "Weaponized applications of these newly-capable robots will also harm public trust in the technology in ways that damage the tremendous benefits they will bring to society. For these reasons, we do not support the weaponization of our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots."