This Robot Dog Has an SMG

pcmag.com:

At this point it seems like people are taking dystopian fiction as a challenge rather than a cautionary tale. Researchers are developing swarms of drones that can navigate forests, a bunch of companies have given up on reality, and someone mounted an SMG on a robot dog.

Technological canines have become increasingly capable over the last few years. The best-known company in this space is Boston Dynamics, which has created a dog called Spot that can open doors, scan warehouses, and help with emergency response to factory accidents.

Now someone has created a similar robot dog... with a gun on its back:

The video raises more questions than it answers. Who made it? Why did they make it? Have they not seen the "Black Mirror" episode that demonstrates the dangers of militarizing robot dogs, or did they watch that episode and think "we could make that a reality," for some reason?

Vice reports(Opens in a new window) that some evidence points to the robot dog being a Boston Dynamics knockoff that's readily available via AliExpress. Patches on the dog's flanks suggest the project is affiliated with the Russian Special Operations Forces, too, but that could be an attempt at misdirection.

Either way, this is now a thing we have to worry about, I guess. Here's to hoping we handle these SMG-toting robot dogs better than the folks in that "Black Mirror" episode handled their versions of this particular dystopian nightmare.

Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

Your