https://twitter.com/drefanzor/status/1771566454753607848
March 23, 2024
Quadrupeds being reviewed have automatic targeting systems but require human oversight to fire.
In July 2022, a video of a rifle bolted to the back of a Unitree robodog went viral on social media, eventually leading Boston Robotics and other robot vendors to issue a pledge that October to not weaponize their robots (with notable exceptions for military uses). In April, we covered a Unitree Go2 robot dog, with a flame thrower strapped on its back, on sale to the general public.
The prospect of deploying armed robotic dogs, even with human oversight, raises significant questions about the future of warfare and the potential risks and ethical implications of increasingly autonomous weapons systems. There's also the potential for backlash if similar remote weapons systems eventually end up used domestically by police. Such a concern would not be unfounded: In November 2022, we covered a decision by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to allow the San Francisco Police Department to use lethal robots against suspects.
There's also concern that the systems will become more autonomous over time. As The War Zone's Howard Altman and Oliver Parken describe in their article, "While further details on MARSOC's use of the gun-armed robot dogs remain limited, the fielding of this type of capability is likely inevitable at this point. As AI-enabled drone autonomy becomes increasingly weaponized, just how long a human will stay in the loop, even for even for kinetic acts, is increasingly debatable, regardless of assurances from some in the military and industry."
https://twitter.com/drefanzor/status/1771566454753607848
March 23, 2024
*****
I know how this turns out. I recommend reading "Second Variety," a short story by Philip K. Dick.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Worlds_(2019_TV_series)
VERY interesting take here in this WOTW remake, and Boston Dynamics is a big star in it (no spoilers)
The whole concept was pretty interesting, series is 24 episodes/3 seasons.
Oh, and PS, the concept of fighting semi-autonomous and/or autonomous AI is demonstrated here. It would/will in Real Life (RL) switch rapidly (not covered/touched on in show) to humans needing to develope/ad-hoc together near to near full body armor because as is already demonstrated now that AI/Robotic targeting systems rarely miss...
