Keep sending Boston Dynamics the message: They shouldn't trust ICE with Spot
Updated: Sep 27
We remain deeply concerned about potential misuse of the company’s Spot robot dogs in ICE’s hands and reiterate our message to the company: Please do not trust ICE with Spot!
TASK: Email Boston Dynamics’ Marco da Silva, Vice President and General Manager, Spot
Subject: Do you trust ICE not to violate your company’s ethics principles? Suggested Message:
Dear Mr. da Silva,
I was distressed to learn of the plan for US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enter into a contract with Boston Dynamics for the purchase of the company’s Spot Robot Dogs.
Your website states that you “strive to create a future in which humans and machines work together to improve everyone's safety, productivity and quality of life,” and that the robots must work “in service of human needs.” Government use of robots, you note, must not involve “violation of privacy and civil rights laws.”
Your past experience with the agency does not predict that there will be continued respect for the ethical guidelines you promote. In the past two years, ICE has repeatedly demonstrated that it is incapable of acting in a manner consistent with these principles in its use of violence, in targeting individuals exercising their Constitutional rights, and in resisting all efforts to be held accountable for its actions. The agency’s own words about how it will use body-worn cameras is a case in point, stating it will only release recordings when it is in the interests of the agency to do so.
ICE may claim their interest in Spot is for purely defensive purposes, but your company should note what ICE now calls a defensive action. For example, ICE agents have claimed self-defense when they have shot at people in vehicles, despite video evidence that the agents were never in harm’s way. In July, a New York Times investigation found that nearly half of 400-plus resolved assault cases brought against protesters and immigrants unraveled, often because agents were found to have initiated force. It is frightening to consider how far a rogue agency like ICE can go when provided with powerful technology.
Bottom line: Boston Dynamics should not want to be associated with an agency that is tearing communities apart with seemingly little concern for civil rights and human decency. Please reconsider the contract and join the growing number of companies that are choosing to stand by their own principles and on the right side of history.
[Your Name]
[Your City, State]
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