A U.S. company hires people to walk robot dogs for $20 an hour

A startup in San Francisco, Dimensional, has hired individuals to walk robot dogs for $20 per hour, as reported by The New York Times. The job requires walking the machines for four to six hours on city sidewalks, with no need to clean up after them but the possibility of carrying the 33-pound devices back to the office. The company, based in Dogpatch, has deleted the job posting, which was shared on a Facebook group. Founder Stash Pomichter, 26, aims to develop an open-source operating system for robots, allowing users to direct them in real-world tasks. The experiment with robot dogs is meant to gather data for improving their autonomy. Pomichter explained that the AI-controlled robots currently perform poorly compared to human-operated ones, highlighting the need for human involvement. The company has purchased over 100 robot dogs and 50 humanoid robots from various manufacturers, including Unitree. While some residents find the initiative amusing, others express concerns about the potential militarization of AI, with one man threatening the company over fears of weaponization. Dimensional has reported the incident to the police.