Canadian Robotics Manufacturer Pledges Not to Make ‘Killer Robots’

Kitchener-based robotic vehicle manufacturer, Clearpath Robotics, is the first robotics company to sign on with the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, “an international coalition of non-governmental organizations working to ban fully autonomous weapons.”

Clearpath Robotics will continue to work with military clients, but has vouched to not manufacture weaponized robots that remove humans from the loop. The Company, in turn, has chosen to value our ethics over potential future revenue.

Clearpath Robotics Co-Founder and CTO, Ryan Gariepy, has written an open letter to express the company’s stance on the issue.

Gariepy writes, “To the people against killer robots: we support you”.

The letter continues, “This technology has the potential to kill indiscriminately and to proliferate rapidly; early prototypes already exist. Despite our continued involvement with Canadian and international military research and development, Clearpath Robotics believes that the development of killer robots is unwise, unethical, and should be banned on an international scale”.

Read Gariepy’s complete open letter here.