Six robotics companies pledge not to build robot soldiers  

In an open letter

In the past we’ve seen robots like Boston Dynamics’ Spot used alongside soldiers in training missions, presenting a bleak future. However, Boston Dynamics, along with five other leading robotics companies, pledged in an open letter that they would not pursue or allow their robots to be used as weapons.

Agility Robotics, ANYbotics, Clearpath Robotics, Open Robotics and Unitree Robotics, along with Boston Dynamics, said:

We believe that adding weapons to robots that are autonomous or remotely controlled, are widely available to the public, and are capable of navigating hitherto inaccessible areas where people live and work raises a new risk of danger and serious ethical questions. The weaponized applications of this new generation of robots will damage public trust in technology in ways that will overshadow the extraordinary benefits they will bring to society.

Thus, the group of companies commits not to weaponize the general-purpose robots they develop, nor the software that controls them, and will not support others who do so. They will not even allow their customers to intervene in the products where this is possible.