Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently outlined an unconventional proposal for the company’s Optimus humanoid robots: supervising former offenders to prevent future criminal activity.
Announced at Tesla’s shareholder meeting, Musk suggested that robots could serve as “a more humane form of containment of future crime,” potentially offering an alternative to traditional incarceration.
The plan envisions Optimus robots following individuals who have committed crimes, deterring them from reoffending while allowing them to continue daily life otherwise.
Optimus, Tesla’s bipedal AI robot unveiled in 2022, was initially designed for performing complex human tasks and labor-intensive work, according to The Independent.
Musk has previously described the robot as a potential “infinite money glitch,” claiming it could significantly boost global economic productivity while transforming labor markets.
At the meeting, he framed the concept in futuristic terms, according to Breitbart.
“You don’t have to put people in prisons and stuff. If somebody’s committed crime, you now get a free Optimus and it’s just gonna follow you around and stop you from doing crime,” said Musk.
“But other than that you get to do anything. It’s just gonna stop you from committing crime, that’s really it.”
The proposal immediately drew scrutiny from legal, ethical and technical perspectives.
Experts noted that the robots, still in early development, cannot reliably identify criminal conduct or safely intervene in real-world situations.
Concerns focus on privacy, misuse and the broader societal implications of deploying privately owned AI robots for public safety.
“This shows a complete lack of understanding of criminology, the justice system, and frankly, basic human rights,” said Michael Johnson, a Brookings Institution legal expert.
“The idea that a robot can somehow rehabilitate offenders better than comprehensive support programs is absurd. It comes across as a dystopian surveillance scheme more than anything else.”
Engineering specialists echoed similar doubts.
Optimus prototypes currently perform basic movements such as waving or carrying objects, far from the capability needed to monitor or restrain human behavior.
“These robots simply do not have anywhere near the intelligence or physical capabilities to monitor, let alone restrain, human behavior,” robotics engineer Sarah Chen explained.
“The risks of false positives, bias, and misuse are immense. What happens when a robot misinterprets a benign situation as a crime? Who is liable?”
Investors attending the meeting also expressed concern, questioning Musk’s focus on ambitious side projects while Tesla continues to navigate production and supply chain challenges.
At the same event, shareholders approved Musk’s compensation package, potentially worth nearly $1 trillion over the next decade if performance targets are met.
Musk additionally floated the idea of integrating Neuralink, his brain-computer interface, with Optimus, envisioning a future where human consciousness could be uploaded to a robotic body within 20 years.
Despite these challenges, Musk presented the plan as a compassionate alternative to imprisonment, offering former offenders freedom while still monitoring their behavior.
Experts caution that substantial legal, ethical and technical hurdles would need to be addressed before such a system could function safely.
The idea exemplifies Musk’s ongoing drive to merge cutting-edge technology with societal applications.
From colonizing Mars to advanced brain-computer interfaces, his vision for Optimus stretches far beyond industrial tasks, raising urgent questions about ethics, privacy and the role of AI in daily life.
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