Ok that's it, we officially live in a Black Mirror-style dystopia.
If you're like many people, those much-vaunted robot dogs developed by engineering firm Boston Dynamics have always left you a bit unsettled. What's to stop these ostensibly cute dog-borgs turning into something more akin to an electronic Cujo--or worse?
Well, worry no more! No, not because someone solved the problem. Rather, because a Russian YouTuber has actually turned a similar robot dog into a killing machine by attaching a submachine gun to its back and brb, we're building a bunker.
Clips of the YouTuber's video show the dog not only packing heat, but actually firing off multiple rounds, and all jokes aside it has left people genuinely disturbed because of the truly terrifying prospects it presents.
See one of the deeply off-putting clips below.
\u201cAll the people who laughed off the \u201cworrywarts\u201d years ago for freaking out about the Funny Dancing Robot Dogs (tm) should be forced to watch this video once a day for the remainder of the year.\u201d— Sean Chiplock (@Sean Chiplock) 1658300682
The video shows the Spot-like robot shooting off multiple rounds from a PP-19 Vityaz submachine gun with a terrifying lack of precision because, while the gun seems securely mounted, the dog's tech clearly cannot account for a gun's kickback.
It's most likely the robot in the video isn't actually one of Boston Dynamics' and rather just a very similar machine; company policies forbid its robots from being modified to carry weapons and it refuses to sell to customers planning to do so.
But policies and actual capabilities are of course two different things, and the video has had a chilling effect to say the least.
Since its launch a few years ago, Boston Dynamics has positioned their Spot robot dog as a technological breakthrough with a cute and whimsical side, like this promo in which Spot dances to Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk"
UpTown Spotyoutu.be
But activists, experts and regular folk alike have warned from the outset that technology like this, especially given its capabilities to access spaces and locations humans can't, could easily be used to violent ends by police or militaries.
Several police forces around the country, including the NYPD and Massachusetts State Police have already purchased Spot robots, as has the Department of Homeland Security and the French Army.
But while that uproar was mostly met by skeptics calling the warnings hysterical and melodramatic, the clips currently going viral seem to suggest otherwise.
So too, does the ready availability of models similar to Boston Dynamics' on sites like Alibaba for around $3000--easily in reach of many consumers in a time of widespread political violence and flourishing far-right militias.
On Twitter, people were deeply disturbed by the dystopian prospects the video reveals.
\u201cThere was never any chance this technology wouldn't be turned into a weapon immediately.\u201d— Jake Williams (@Jake Williams) 1658359741
\u201cWe\u2019re using black mirror episodes as an instruction manual.\u201d— Jason-Derek (@Jason-Derek) 1658347118
\u201cThis needs to be illegal as of yesterday\u201d— Brad Batt for TN State Sanity \u270a\ud83c\udffc\u270a\ud83c\udffd\u270a\ud83c\udffe (@Brad Batt for TN State Sanity \u270a\ud83c\udffc\u270a\ud83c\udffd\u270a\ud83c\udffe) 1658351297
\u201c@sonicmega Oh great, they even supply their own suspenseful drum beat. https://t.co/T9hwkdwvUn\u201d— Sean Chiplock (@Sean Chiplock) 1658300682
\u201cBoston Dynamics makes a robotic dog for cops named Spot that can be equipped with machine gun turrets. NYC mayor Adams already bought it. It gets even worse. A clone of "Spot" is freely available on AliExpress, also with machine gun ability.\nhttps://t.co/tNyyYhm8Jt\n1/2\u201d— IncarcerNation (@IncarcerNation) 1658405565
\u201call such machines must be destroyed\u201d— Inhabit (@Inhabit) 1658339125
\u201cAnyone else remember when \u201ccute\u201d videos of these dog robots first came out and people were like \u201cyeah they\u2019re gonna have guns on them soon\u201d\u201d— Read Wobblies and Zapatistas (@Read Wobblies and Zapatistas) 1658339579
\u201cThe state of AI right now is absolutely ridiculous. This is terrifying \ud83d\ude31 @elonmusk \n\nhttps://t.co/bd6If3bAgo\u201d— Pranay Pathole (@Pranay Pathole) 1658383965
\u201cGoddess, please don't let the last thing I see in this life be a robot dog with a gun strapped to it's back at a protest.\u201d— Panda Hater\u262d\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 (@Panda Hater\u262d\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8) 1658369710
\u201cThey\u2019ve got a robot dog that shoots a machine gun now.\u201d— Ryan, Perdido en TX (@Ryan, Perdido en TX) 1658510931
Normally we'd close with one of those "I for one welcome our new machine-gun-robot-dog overlords" jokes but... well, yikes.
