Very good boys? The dark, dystopian rise of robot dogs

Pups that carry your shopping are one thing – but what about the mechanical canines being bought up in the US by ICE? Or the mutant mutts due to be developed by a startup called Warhound?

Have you ever wanted to hang out with a dog with no fur, no face and a chip in its shoulder? If so, I suggest you head to San Francisco, where a startup called Dimensional has been paying people $20 (£15) an hour to walk four-legged robot dogs. This isn’t because the dogs need the exercise – it is because the company needs the training data. As reported in the New York Times, the goal is to develop “operating systems that can integrate with AI agents so the machines can act more independently”.

What exactly will these machines do when they can act more independently? The founder of Dimensional insists they will help people. They might carry groceries home, for example, which is certainly something my tiny chihuahua-mix is incapable of.

While it is nice to think that robo dogs are all going to be very good boys, there is a darker side to the industry. A couple of months ago it was reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned to spend up to $2m (£1.5m) on robot dogs made by the company Boston Dynamics. ICE has said the dogs won’t be used for anything nefarious but, considering everything the agency has been up to lately, this isn’t particularly reassuring.

Look, you might say, while this is all very dystopian, these things aren’t really dogs. They’re just canine-shaped robots. At least we’re not seeing the rise of real dogs with AI-powered armour. Alas, that’s just around the corner. Last month a startup called Warhound launched with the aim of creating genetically modified dogs equipped with “advanced cybernetic augments, software and battlefield situational awareness”. What does that mean in plain English? Details about Warhound are sparse, but I’m pretty sure it likely means mutant dogs that kill people.

I base that assumption, by the way, on the people behind Warhound. One is bioscience entrepreneur Ben Lamm, who made headlines for trying to bring the dodo back from extinction. The other is Palmer Luckey, a mullet-loving, seemingly-war-obsessed billionaire who founded weapons company Anduril. “Societies have always needed a warrior class that is enthused and excited about enacting violence on others in pursuit of good aims,” Luckey said in 2024. “You need people like me who are sick in that way and who don’t lose any sleep making tools of violence in order to preserve freedom.” I’m not sure about that, Mr Luckey. I for one would sleep a lot better if we left dogs alone and put billionaires on a tight leash.