Ready, aim... Viral ChatGPT-powered sentry gun gets shut down by OpenAI But actual autonomous AI weapons systems are much more terrifying. Kyle Orland Jan 10, 2025 12:07 pm | 38 If you build an AI-controlled sentry gun, of course you're gonna try to ride it like a mechanical bull. Credit: sts_3D / Tiktok If you build an AI-controlled sentry gun, of course you're gonna try to ride it like a mechanical bull. Credit: sts_3D / Tiktok Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOpenAI says it has cut off API access to an engineer whose video of a motorized sentry gun controlled by ChatGPT-powered commands has set off a viral firestorm of concerns about AI-powered weapons.An engineer going by the handle sts_3d started posting videos of a motorized, auto-rotating swivel chair project in August. By November, that same assembly appeared to seamlessly morph into the basis for a sentry gun that could quickly rotate to arbitrary angles and activate a servo to fire precisely aimed projectiles (though only blanks and simulated lasers are shown being fired in his videos).Earlier this week, though, sts_3d started getting wider attention for a new video showing the sentry gun's integration with OpenAI's real-time API. In the video, the gun uses that ChatGPT integration to aim and fire based on spoken commands from sts_3d and even responds in a chirpy voice afterward.@sts_3d OpenAI Realtime API project integration #robotics #ai #openai original sound - sts_3d"If you need any other assistance, please let me know," the ChatGPT-powered gun says after firing a volley at one point. "Good job, you saved us," sts_3d responds, deadpan."I'm glad I could help!" ChatGPT intones happily.In response to a comment request from Futurism, OpenAI said it had "proactively identified this violation of our policies and notified the developer to cease this activity ahead of receiving your inquiry. OpenAI's Usage Policies prohibit the use of our services to develop or use weapons or to automate certain systems that can affect personal safety."Halt, intruder alert!The "voice-powered killer AI robot angle" has garnered plenty of viral attention for sts_3d's project in recent days. But the ChatGPT integration shown in his video doesn't exactly reach Terminator levels of a terrifying killing machine. Here, ChatGPT instead ends up looking more like a fancy, overwrought voice-activated remote control for a legitimately impressive gun mount.The demonstrated voice controls don't even seem particularly efficient in the video. Each of sts_3d's commands takes a few seconds to speak aloud, and it takes a few more seconds for ChatGPT to process and execute them. Compare that to sts_3d's other videos, where the gun automatically tracks a specific colored object with terrifying speed or quickly rotates between mouse-specified targets on a video feed, both of which seem much more ruthlessly methodical. Hobbyist sentry gun projects have also been showing off the ability to track and fire on moving targets since well before the recent LLM boom.@sts_3d Update on the tracking system #robotics #vision #electronics original sound - sts_3dStill, any potential link between "AI" and "weapons" quickly brings up images of merciless autonomous machines that can "intelligently" identify and neutralize threats without human intervention. The US military apparatus has definitely shown potential interest in that kind of automated AI weapons system, even if a human is still always "in the loop" on firing decisions (for now).OpenAI's usage policy has long included language barring uses that could "harm people, destroy property, or develop weapons." But last January, The Intercept reported on a stealth usage policy update removing a previous prohibition on "military and warfare" uses. And just last month, OpenAI announced a partnership with military contractor Anduril "to develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions."Policies aside, the wider proliferation of open-weight and open source AI models pretty much ensures that engineering hobbyists and weapons enthusiasts will continue to experiment with various levels of AI-controlled guns. That's true whether or not ChatGPT is being used as the vocal interface for those projects.Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 38 Comments