The Killer Robot Future Is Already Here

<p>The killer robots are here and they’re not going away.&nbsp;</p><br><p>We’ve all seen footage of the cute robot dogs stumbling around with weapons strapped to their back, and loitering munitions (or so-called “suicide drones”) have become a fixture on the battlefield in Ukraine.</p><br><p>There’s a general fear in the air that the near future will be populated by semi-autonomous killing machines. But killer robots have been here a long time. Did you know one of the first aerial drones was deployed more than 100 years ago? Did you know cops have already used a robot to kill a suspect? Did you know the Netherlands has already deployed robots on the ground equipped with machine guns?</p><br><p>Kelsey Atherton knows, and he’s here to tell us all about it. Atherton is a military tech writer specializing in robots, nukes, and other terrible futures. He’s written for Motherboard before and his substack is <a href="https://athertonkd.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wars of Future Past</a>.</p><br><p><strong>Stories discussed in this episode:</strong></p><br><p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/3ad7bj/robot-dog-maker-boston-dynamics-pledges-not-to-let-its-robots-kill-you" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Robot Dog Maker Boston Dynamics Pledges Not to Let Its Robots Kill You</strong></a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3pwxg/robot-dog-with-rpg-strapped-to-its-back-demoed-at-russian-arms-fair" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Robot Dog With RPG Strapped to Its Back Demoed at Russian Arms Fair</strong></a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dz7b/police-outsourcing-human-interaction-with-homeless-people-to-boston-dynamics-robot-dog" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Police Outsourcing Human Interaction With Homeless People to Boston Dynamics’ Robot Dog</strong></a></p><br><p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgpax3/the-netherlands-has-deployed-natos-first-killer-robot-ground-vehicles" rel="noopener