The future of robots is inevitable. So, I am not sure about all the dystopia views people have. I guess some people are just resistant to change. I see no threat from robots like Spot. But I can’t speak for everyone and I most certainly can’t speak for MSCHF – the art collective behind a bunch of viral campaigns and products, including the Jesus Shoes.
Apparently, the outfit is planning to demonstrate the dystopian side of Boston Dynamic’s robotic tech. In an event called Spot’s Rampage, the group outfitted Spot with a paintball gun and planned to let others to take control it inside a mocked up art gallery. The idea is to let users control the armed Spot via a webpage and shoot art stuff.
Obviously, or at least to the public, Boston Dynamics did not develop robots like Spot for the purpose of being armed and therefore the notion of Spot capable of being armed upsets the robotic company.
We shan’t debate on this. I am not on either side. First, I think no threat could come from robots, or at least not in my lifetime and secondly, when a company, however virtuous they appear to be, created super capable robots, they don’t really expect it to be used for the greater good only. Don’t pretend anything they create cannot and will not be militarized. It will.
Images: MSCHF.
Source: Wired.
