--- title: "Outcry as Video Shows Robodog Patrolling With NYPD" description: "A new video going viral on Twitter shows a robot police dog being deployed by the New York City police department." date: "2021-04-13" modified: "2021-04-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/outcry-video-robodog-patrolling-nypd" categories: - "Robot Dogs" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "boston dynamics" - "New York" - "nypd" - "spot" --- # Outcry as Video Shows Robodog Patrolling With NYPD ![A new video going viral on Twitter shows a robot police dog being deployed by the New York City police department.]() *\Image: ABC7\* A new video going viral on Twitter shows a robot police dog patrolling with cops from the New York City police department. The unit, a Spot robodog built by Boston Dynamics, can be seen going for a walk around a public sidewalk, surrounded by several police staff. https://twitter.com/1800SPOILED/status/1381755654164074498 The sighting was met with outrage, with many bystanders audibly voicing their displeasure with the dystopian "Black Mirror"-like appearance. "I ain't never seen nothing like this in my life," the person filming the video can be heard saying. Renowned *New York Times* journalist Kara Swisher was equally appalled. "What the fuck is this is the exact right reaction," [she tweeted]() in response to the video. It's still unclear how the NYPD is planning to make use of the robot. The video comes after [several instances]() of police staff rolling out the robot dog in public streets. The decision to deploy the robots was met with widespread criticism and [raised privacy concerns]() among many earlier this year. In February, the robot was used during a Bronx home invasion to reportedly ensure that there was nobody inside, as [*The New York Times* reported]() at the time. The police have maintained that they are using the robots to save lives. "The NYPD has been using robots since the 1970s to save lives in hostage situations and hazmat incidents," the [department tweeted]() in February. "This model of robot is being tested to evaluate its capabilities against other models in use by our Emergency Service Unit and Bomb Squad." Boston Dynamics has attempted to distance itself from its products being used by not only police departments around the world, but military armed forces as well. Last week, [news emerged]() of a French military school deploying a Spot robot dog during a two-day training exercise. "We think that the military, to the extent that they do use robotics to take people out of harm’s way, we think that’s a perfectly valid use of the technology," Boston Dynamics’ VP of business development Michael Perry [told ]()*[The Verge]()*. The company's terms of service forbid the robot dog from being used to "to harm or intimidate any person or animal, as a weapon, or to enable any weapon." Given the latest incidents, either Boston Dynamics either has a very loose definition of the word "intimidate" — or it simply isn't willing to enforce its terms of service. It's also a bad look because the NYPD already has a very shaky image in the eyes of the public. Deploying a robot dog to its front lines will likely only alienate civilians even further. **More on the robot dogs:** *[Boston Dynamics Robot Runs Out of Battery During Military Combat Drill, Needs to Be Carried]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()