Two years ago on January 6, 2021, I published a post entitled “Robots, Regulation, Regime Change.” I wrote the post after watching a video of dancing robots made by Boston Dynamics, a US-based Hyundai company.

Two years later, Boston Dynamics has once again produced a video that is both optimistic and eery. The video features Atlas, a two-legged robot that is remarkable for its strength, dexterity, and fluidity.

The field of robotics is moving at great pace and that pace appears to be accelerating.

Like most innovations, robots can be used for good or nefarious purposes.

What would Putin do, for example, with an army of robots after he has emptied the prisons and exhausted Russia’s youth?

It is now time for the G7, its allies, and its partners to regulate this sector and prevent the transfer of technology to dictators and autocrats. 

Canada could take the lead here, the same way it did for the Ottawa Treaty (anti-personnel mines) or the Montreal Protocol (ozone layer protection treaty). Ottawa likes to talk a big game in foreign affairs, while spending very little money. 

More seriously, it would be nice if government were not caught short by the leaps in artificial intelligence and/or robotics — as was the case with Chat GPT, a program that was lackadaisically released a few months ago and which has upended whole sectors, including academia.