ICE Plan To Buy Robot Dogs Spurs Protest From Hundreds Of Boston Dynamics Employees
"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:
Hundreds of employees at the US robotics firm Boston Dynamics signed a petition calling for executives to halt a sale of the company's robot dogs to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement-but executives stood by the deal, while saying the robots would not be weaponized.
On September 25, the Department of Homeland Security contract awarded $1.3 million to a Connecticut company called Radeco to provide ICE with modified versions of Boston Dynamics' quadruped robots. But Boston Dynamics workers sent the petition letter with more than 300 signatures-half of them anonymous-to the company's executives in early September and shared copies with The Boston Globe and WBUR public radio station.
"Many of us have gotten messages from friends and family, asking us in disbelief and horror if this news is true, and how we can live with ourselves if it is," according to the petition. "The risk for Boston Dynamics is simply too great to continue with this deal."
The petition described the signatories as employees who normally "love showing off what we do to our friends, family and the world" and who "love challenging ourselves to innovate and change the perception of what robots can do." The 300 signatures come out of a total Boston Dynamics workforce of approximately 1,400 people.
The ICE contract covers the purchase of four Boston Dynamics Spot robots that were modified by Radeco to be marketed as a robot platform named Cerberus. The contract describes these Cerberus robots as being intended to "detect radiation, toxic gas leaks and explosive threats in urban environments or disaster zones," along with enabling other remote observation and inspection missions.
A centerpiece of the upgraded robot is an oxygen sensor that is intended to "ensure the air quality is breathable when personnel are placed in confined spaces such as tunnels." The Cerberus robot dog also has a camera equipped with 30-times zoom capability, 360-degree cameras, and infrared thermal imaging.
The Cerberus robot dog would come with an optional Spot robotic arm that enables it to manipulate objects and open doors, along with providing additional camera views when extended. The ICE contract describes the robot as being generally capable of navigating complex industrial environments on its own and executing "repeatable autonomous missions with minimal human intervention."
Such a purchase was justified in the ICE contract as supporting the Homeland Security Task Forces' mission to carry out "counter-illicit cross-border tunnel operations" and dismantling "cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks" being conducted by "criminal cartels, foreign gangs and transnational criminal organizations throughout the United States."
"Spot robots are tools that help keep people out of harm's way," a Boston Dynamics spokesperson told Ars in a statement. "Regardless of any political implications or personal feelings about the organizations involved, if our robot can help keep people safe, we believe it should."
Boston Dynamics has also emphasized that the robots would primarily be used by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit that is focused on combating transnational criminal organizations, according to WBUR.
However, the Brennan Center for Justice has documented the Homeland Security Investigations unit as frequently being involved in deporting undocumented workers and conducting workplace raids during the first administration of President Donald Trump. These operations occurred between 2018 and 2021, before being halted by US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas early in the term of President Joe Biden.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.