A New York-based start-up, MSCHF (mischief) has mounted a compressed air paint gun on one of Boston Dynamic’s $75,000 Spot robots and will apparently link its controls to a public website.
Spot is the company’s robotic dog machine that can perform tricks like dancing, parkour, etc. Boston Dynamics has received several million views on YouTube with the clips of this futuristic dog going viral. But pranksters at MSCHF have opposing views.
Daniel Greenberg, a member of MSCHF said there are serious negative implications to this jolly robot dog. “Anytime you see a TikTok or a dance, it’s like, ‘Oh God, Spot is so happy’”, says Greenberg. “But if we actually talk candidly about what it’s going to be used for in the real world, you could say it’s police, you could say it’s military.”
As expected, Boston Dynamics wasn’t pleased with this outlook. They tweeted, “We condemn the portrayal of our technology in any way that promotes violence, harm, or intimidation. Our mission is to create and deliver surprisingly capable robots that inspire, delight, and positively impact society.”
MSCHF’s past stunts include an app that awarded $25,000 to the person who could hold down a button for the longest time, selling “Jesus Shoes” sneakers with real holy water infused shoes, developing an astrology-based stock-picking app and a bong shaped like a rubber chicken that squeaked when used.
“We’ve put a Spot in an art gallery, mounted it with a .68cal paintball gun, and given the internet the ability to control it, MSCHF wrote on their website. It further added, “We’re live streaming Spot as it frolics and destroys the gallery around it. Spots rampage is piloted by YOU! Spot is remote-controlled over the internet, and we will select random viewers to take the wheel.”
The intent behind MSCHF’s mischief is to draw attention to the robot’s potential to be misused in the future. “When killer robots come to America they will be wrapped in fur, carrying a ball. Good boy, Spot! Everyone in this world takes one look at the cute little Spot and knows: this thing will definitely be used by the police and the military to murder people”, the website read.
MSCHF’s claims are not totally baseless. In late 2019, the Massachusetts State Police used Spot units as a mobile remote observation device in dangerous situations. Authorities in Singapore used Spot robots to patrol parks behind the COVID-19, broadcasting a message to the pedestrians to keep a distance.
Boston Dynamics Vice President Michael Perry says that Spot’s terms of use prohibit violent use of the robot. “The core things we’re trying to avoid are things that harm people, intimidate people, or break the law,” said Perry. He further adds that this is not just a moral point for the company but also their commercial point as they want to sell the robots. Perry assures that the robot is periodically checked by the Boston Dynamics servers which means the servers can disable the SPOT that MSCHF is using. To this, the MSCHF crew says they have an alternate idea ready just in case.
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