Dozens of Boston Dynamics employees are calling on the company to stop the sale of its AI-powered robot dogs to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Known as “Spot,” Boston Dynamics’ robots are autonomous, dog-like machines with four legs that can climb stairs and perform backflips. They are equipped with cameras and sensors.
The company faced backlash in late August, when it was first revealed that the Department of Homeland Security was considering purchasing the robots. A $1.3 million deal with ICE was reached in September for the sale of four robot dogs and other Spot technology.
The employees wrote in a petition, obtained by WBUR and sent in early September to company management, that the sale harms Boston Dynamics’ image and “presents us as working directly with ICE” while the agency “has worked to sow fear” across the country.
A Boston Dynamics spokesperson confirmed the petition Friday, but said “nearly half” of its 300 signatures were “anonymous.” The company employs more than 1,500 people.
“We cannot be proud to work at (Boston Dynamics) when our work is used by a government agency that brutalizes civilians, including some of our own colleagues…” the petition reads.
ICE previously said the robots would give them an additional security tool capable of “providing real-time situational awareness in dangerous, confined or tactically uncertain environments” before agents are dispatched to the scene. The agency added that robot dogs would not replace the “human judgment” of its law enforcement officers.
Boston Dynamics says the dogs are sold to ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, which focuses primarily on transnational criminal cases and not deportation operations.
But Boston Dynamics employees said in the letter that the risk to the company was “too great to pursue this agreement,” adding that it could lead to employees quitting or turning down potential new hires.
“Our public facing teams have received external emails concerned about this agreement,” the petition states. “Many of us have received messages from friends and family, asking in disbelief and horror if this news is true, and how we can live with ourselves if it is.”
In a letter to employees, Amanda McMaster, interim CEO of Boston Dynamics, wrote that after reviewing the petition, the company stood by its decision to sell the robots to ICE.
McMaster said customers must comply with the company’s terms of sale, which “prohibit any attempt to weaponize our robot or use it for harm or intimidation.”
“I ask that you respect and accept this decision, even if you do not agree with it,” McMaster wrote.
The company’s ethical principles state that “if our products are used for harmful purposes, we will take appropriate measures to mitigate such misuse.” However, it is unclear what these mitigation measures would be.
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