Google lifts self-imposed ban against AI being used in weapons and surveillance

Google is reported to have dropped its pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance. This goes against the slogan that has been used since the beginning, “Don’t Be Evil.” Ironically, Google changed the phrase to “Do the Right Thing” when it reorganized Alphabet Inc., in 2015. In 2018, “Don’t Be Evil” was quietly removed by the company from its code of conduct.

This move shows that Google no longer cares about the criticism it may receive for taking government contracts for AI to be used in government surveillance and weapons contracts.

The tech giant was under fire in 2018 after it was revealed they had a contract with U.S. Department of Defense that used the name Project MavenGoogle’s artificial intelligence was used for drone imaging. The company issued a statement shortly after that outlined its principlesand included a pledge not to use AI in technologies that “cause overall harm or are likely to do so”weapons, surveillance and “Technologies that have a purpose that contravenes widely-accepted principles of international law and of human rights.”

Google had a blurb that read, “We also want to make it clear that we are not developing AI to be used in weapons but we will continue to work These include cybersecurity, military recruitment, veterans’ healthcare, and search-and-rescue. These collaborations are crucial, and we will actively look for ways to augment their critical work and keep servicemen and civilians safe.

The same blog post has now a message at the top of the post referencing recent AI policy updates and urging readers to read them in a different post. The new post removes the previousandsections and outlines its current three principles: Bold Innovation, Responsible Development and Deployment,andCollaborative Progress.

Gizmodo.