Source: MSCHF
MSCHF — the viral internet art group — has a new drop tomorrow called “Spot’s Rampage.”
The group spent ~$75k to purchase one of those Boston Dynamics dog robots… and equipped it with a paintball gun.
Starting at 1pm EST on Feb. 24, anyone on the internet can remotely pilot the robot around a small art gallery.
Boston Dynamics is pushing back
The robotics company tweeted a statement last week saying that it “learned that an art group is planning a spectacle” and condemned “the portrayal of [its] technology in any way that promotes violence.”
The drop shines light on the larger questions of dual-use tech: A popular example of this is nuclear energy, which can provide clean power (nuclear plants) or cause great destruction (nuclear bombs).
More recently, the rise of AI…
…has brought attention to how the technology can serve both civilian (show recommendations) and military (automated drones) purposes.
Boston Dynamics writes that “provocative art can help push useful dialogue” but that MSCHF’s drop “fundamentally misrepresents Spot.”
“We always see Boston Dynamics robots shown in nonthreatening and cute videos,” the MSCHF team tells The Hustle. “The reality is that all of this technology can be used for other purposes.”
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