“Spot’s Rampage” is an art installation by art group MSCHF. Image: screengrab from MSCHF’s spotsrampage.com website
A provocative art installation showcased the potential violent use of advanced robotics by arming a robot dog with a paintball gun and gave the public free control—and Boston Dynamics is not happy about it.
The American tech company, which produces the said advanced quadruped robots called Spot, condemned the said project for its “provocative use” of its technology via a statement released on Feb. 20.
“Today we learned that an art group is planning a spectacle to draw attention to a provocative use of our industrial robot, Spot. To be clear, we condemn the portrayal of our technology in any way that promotes violence, harm, or intimidation,” the company stressed.
“Our mission is to create and deliver surprisingly capable robots that inspire, delight [and] positively impact society,” it added.
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Boston Dynamics explained that they “take great care to make sure our customers intend to use our robots for legal uses” and that they cross-check purchases against the United States’ denied persons and entities list.
They also pointed out that in their terms and conditions of sale, their products cannot be used against the law and should not be used to harm or intimidate people and animals.
