In a recent military drill with Cambodia, China’s military showcased a robot dog that looks straight out of the movies — and not the happy ones. The robot dog has an automatic rifle mounted on its back and is essentially a mean, robotic, killing machine.

“It can serve as a new member in our urban combat operations, replacing our (human) members to conduct reconnaissance and identify (the) enemy and strike the target,” a soldier identified as Chen Wei says in a video from state broadcaster CCTV.

The first news of China’s robo-dogs came from Agence France-Presse, who were reporting on a 15-day joint military exercise with Cambodia dubbed the “Golden Dragon.” Now, we also have videos of it showing off the robot’s capabilities.

The robo-dogs are equipped with machine guns and can operate for two to four hours. They’re also remarkably cheap, at only $2,800 for the Go2.

Warfare is becoming increasingly de-humanized

Unmanned military equipment isn’t exactly new. Drones, for instance, have been a staple of the military for years. Some of these drones can also carry things like machine guns. But land-based autonomous killing machines are a relatively recent addition.

Dog-type robots have become popularized by Boston Dynamics, but while some companies (including Boston Dynamics) have vowed not to weaponize their inventions, other companies don’t seem to care about that as much. The US military is also exploring these “transformative capabilities” and the “application of human machine integration”. Now, China’s doing it too.

If you’re feeling a chill down your spine watching this, well, you should. China is one of the world’s biggest drone users and exporters, and the robo dogs are intensely promoted on the censored and regulated Chinese social media. Whenever something is getting publicity around the “People’s Liberation Army,” you know China’s serious about this.

A new vision of warfare

This vision of warfare, where autonomous robots like the machine gun robot dog play a central role, marks a significant shift from traditional combat methods. The introduction of such technology underscores the trend towards increasingly de-humanized warfare. These robots are designed for reconnaissance as well as active combat roles. They are capable of identifying and eliminating targets without direct human intervention. With AI-powered software, they will likely be enabled to take such decisions.

While the technological prowess demonstrated by these robots is impressive, it brings forth a multitude of ethical and security concerns. An international response to machine gun robots will be crucial. As other nations develop and deploy their own autonomous military robots, there is an urgent need for global dialogue on regulations and treaties governing the use of such technologies.

Will this technology lead to a new era of conflict? Or will there be a concerted effort to establish ethical guidelines? For now, a dystopian future seems to be slowly shaping up.