Technology AI, Science and New Things
The US Marines’ Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is testing a new generation of robot dogs armed with sniper rifles for various applications including surveillance and “tunnel work”. The robots’ features include infrared vision, AI-enhanced cameras that can detect targets, and remote-controlled weapons from Onyx Industries. MARSOC says this test is just that and “should not be construed as a capability or a singular interest in one of many use cases during an evaluation”. It also says it’s adhering to all Department of Defense policies concerning autonomous weapons. For now, the dogs can’t fire weapons autonomously – a person ultimately pulls the remote trigger – but they still raise questions about the ethics of robots in warfare, and fears that there won’t always be a human in the loop.