THE US Marines is testing a robot dog with a terrifying AI-targeting rifle attached which may be used in future “fifth generation warfare” in the 2030s.
The four-legged war machine has been developed by Ghost Robots, with the next-gen gun system installed by defence firm Onyx Industries, The War Zone first reported.
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The Terminator-style quadruped, known as Q-UGV, has an imaging system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that can automatically detect and track potential targets.
A human operator – who could be located anywhere in the world – must be in control of the bot make fire decisions, as it cannot shoot autonomously.
This is horrible for humanity.
LinkedIn user
The gun-equipped robot has been in development since 2021, and comes with either a 7.62x39mm caliber or 6.5mm Creedmoor caliber rifle attached.
Now it has new AI capabilities, it is being tested by The US Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC).
A MARSOC spokesperson said: “The Q-UGV, referred to as a ‘robot dog,’ is under evaluation by MARSOC as one of many pieces of technology in ground robotics evaluation.”
Eric Shell, head of business development at Onyx Industries, said MARSOC are “doing tunnel work, as well as perimeter security” with the bots.
Military bodies are increasingly turning to technology and AI to reduce the upfront human cost of warfare.
Humanoids at war
At the Texas-based South by Southwest conference in March, US Army Colonel Troy Denomy said robots and humanoid could be sent to fight as early as 2030.
“We are largely thinking about the timespan between 2030 and 2040,” he told an audience.
Speaking as part of a panel at the conference called Humanoids or Augmented Humans: Accelerating Autonomy with AI, Denomy noted the concerns regarding the dangers of the army using AI and robots.
“Make sure the robot is working for the human and the human is not working for the robot,” Denomy said.
The colonel gave an example of a recent robot test, which left some of the human platoon feeling like the robots were in control.
“We recently did a demonstration on some robotic capability and we’re doing another demonstration in a few weeks,” Denomy said.
“The leaders in that platoon had about 27 remotes hanging off their neck trying to control individual robots.
“What I described with the controllers, arguably humans are working for the robots. So we’ve got to revert that.”
However, several companies – including Boston Dynamics – have pledged in an open letter to not weaponise their robots.
spell out concerns about “risks of harm and serious ethical issues” from the weaponization of their general-purpose products, fearing that it will “harm public trust in the technology.”
The six signatories say the practice will “harm public trust in the technology”.
The Marine Forces faction has previously tested robot dog rocket launchers.
But onlookers are terrified by this development, and say it feels like an episode of techno-horror series Black Mirror.
“This is horrible for humanity,” one onlooker wrote on LinkedIn.
A second onlooker on X (formerly Twitter) added: “It’s funny how much effort we humans put into making ourselves extinct.”
As we move towards fifth generation warfare, autonomous systems are going to becoming increasingly necessary when dealing with our adversaries.
Jacob Chapa, a sensitive activities programme manager at MARSOC
Yet, those part of MARSOC – the Marine Forces faction testing the robot – have dubbed it a “phenomenal” project.
In a post on LinkedIn, Jacob Chapa, a sensitive activities programme manager at MARSOC, wrote: “As we move towards fifth generation warfare, autonomous systems are going to becoming increasingly necessary when dealing with our adversaries.
“Seeing companies like Onyx Industries spearhead the effort to create these systems in order to save American lives will always be something worth celebrating!”
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