AI-Powered Robot Dogs Guarding Reviled Data Centers Is Where We Have Arrived

[cbabe]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/data-centers-robot-dogs

AI-Powered Robot Dogs Guarding Reviled Data Centers Is Where We Have Arrived

These robots, known as “quadrupeds,” are being used to patrol the sprawling energy-sucking complexes, which are increasingly being met with protest around the country.

STEPHEN PRAGER
Mar 17, 2026

As Americans grow fed up with the rapid encroachment of artificial intelligence data centers into their communities, tech companies are embracing a novel solution to protect their energy-sucking behemoths from danger: Even more robots... robot dogs, to be exact.

According to a report from Business Insider on Monday:

As companies pour billions into sprawling industrial campuses for cloud and AI computing, some data center operators are experimenting with four-legged bots—about the size of large dogs—that can patrol fences, inspect equipment, and flag any issues before they turn into costly outages.

These robots, known as “quadrupeds,” are being used to patrol the complexes, which can sometimes reach the size of multiple football fields.

…

One model from Boston Dynamics, known as “Spot,” can cost anywhere from $175,000 to $300,000. And while the technology may seem futuristic, Spot and other quadrupeds like it have already been enlisted in law enforcement and public safety for years.

Another company—Ghost Robotics—advertises its quadrupeds for “reconnaissance, intelligence, and surveillance use by the military.”

…more …

(The future was yesterday.)

[chouchou]

1. They can be stopped in their tracks by any loud humans..if they know the magic word..

SIT !!

[cbabe]

2. Alexa say stop sit roll over...

[Dave says]

3. That made me laugh!

Something much needed these days, laughter.

[cbabe]

13. Happy to oblige.

[highplainsdem]

4. They've been used to guard Mar-A-Lago, too.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30p16gn3pvo

A robotic dog named “Spot” made by Boston Dynamics is the latest tool in the arsenal of the US Secret Service.

The device has lately been spotted patrolling the perimeter of President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

They do not have weapons - and each can be controlled remotely or automatically - as long as its route is pre-programmed.

Passers-by are warned by a sign on each of Spot’s legs: “DO NOT PET.”

[cbabe]

6. Controlled remotely means hackable.

[sop]

14. Maybe Spot will attack that nasty pile of ferret fur on top of Trump's head believing it's vermin infestation?

Last edited Wed Mar 18, 2026, 07:06 PM - Edit history (1)

[MustLoveBeagles]

15. One can hope 🤞

[Whip-poor-will]

5. Robot dogs

Dr. Who called his decades ago

[milestogo]

7. Do they eat and poop?

Seems to me they couldn't pass as a dog without eating and pooping.

[berniesandersmittens]

8. I had a robot yell at me in Houston last year

I was waiting on a ride outside a convinience store and evidentally stood there too long.

About shit when i heard it announce, loudly:

"Warning, you are under video survellance for your own protection"

It didnt have legs, but its eyes sure were following me.

Dystopia is here. The robots are about to rule us.

[Goonch]

9. ;-{)......

[milestogo]

10. Its a shame they had their tails cropped.

[harumph]

12. nothing that a .308 to the midsection won't fix

[PatSeg]

11. Whoa, now that is super creepy

Once again, we are living in a 1980s futuristic dystopian movie.

[DBoon]

16. a tesla coil might stop these in their tracks

[cbabe]

17. Shhhhh.

[DBoon]

22. owning a tesla coil will soon make you a terrorist

[Tommy Carcetti]

18. The "Metalhead" episode from Black Mirror aired less than 10 years ago.

Time moves fast.

[PCIntern]

19. Just thinking about this

when I saw theOP title

That was one scary episode. And very, very depressing.

[Tommy Carcetti]

20. That episode and the "White Bear" episode...

...two of the most bleak and terrifying things I've ever seen on television.

[PCIntern]

21. Agreed. The Star Trek takeoff was

horrifying in its own way. These consciousnesses would have been forever trapped by this psychopath.

[2naSalit]

23. Makes me wonder...

What might happen if someone used an actual dog whistle around one of those or a laser light.