What Happens When ChatGPT Meets Boston Dynamics' Robot Dog

A Boston Dynamics robot dog was given the ability to speak by a team of programmers who equipped it with OpenAI’s chatGPT — and the result may prompt you to think of the possibilities. 

What Happened: Santiago, a machine learning engineer, shared a video on Twitter where he and a colleague demonstrated how they used OpenAI’s highly popular AI-powered chatbot to program Boston Dynamics’ “Spot” robot dog to respond to system inquiries verbally. 

See Also: Humanoid Robots Cleaning Your House, Serving Your Food and Running Factories – A Look at Startups Leading the Charge

Santiago explained in a Twitter thread that the robots perform automated missions daily, which involve complex configuration files that span for miles and can only be understood by engineers.

“That’s where ChatGPT comes in,” he tweeted. “We show it the configuration files and the mission results. We then ask questions using that context. Put that together with a voice-enabled interface, and we have an awesome way to query our data!”

In the video, Spot appears to not only verbally respond to questions but also incorporate amusing gestures such as shaking its head for no or bowing for yes. 

Although the interface appears innocuous, many people who viewed the video are quite unsettled by it. 

Why It’s Important: Previously, the godfather of virtual reality, Jaron Lanier, addressed the concerns about people being worried about AI outsmarting humans and taking over the world, saying that it only happens in science fiction movies like “The Matrix and Terminator.”

Last month, Italy became the first Western country to ban ChatGPT. However, the country’s data protection agency later issued a series of requirements saying that if OpenAI fulfills them by April 30, the company could resume operations. 

Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Robo-Hosts Are Gradually Taking Over Reality TV — Is The Dystopian Future Here?