Google Drops Controversial Pentagon AI Contract After Employee Backlash
Google announces it will not renew its Project Maven contract with the Pentagon following intense internal protests. The company is simultaneously developing new ethical principles to guide its future work with the military.
Google refuses to renew its controversial Project Maven contract with the Pentagon after facing massive internal pushback. Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene announces that the deal expires next year and will not be extended, acknowledging that the employee backlash is bad for the company. Thousands of workers previously sign a petition against the project and dozens resign in protest.
Internal emails reveal that Google pursues this military work more aggressively than executives publicly admit. The company assigns at least 10 employees to the project and views the contract as a gateway to future intelligence deals worth up to $250 million. Furthermore, the obtained emails show that Google plans to build a detailed Pentagon surveillance system that allows analysts to click on a building and see everything associated with it.
Despite the end of this specific contract, Google insists it remains at the forefront of the AI ethics conversation. Greene states that it is incumbent on the company to show leadership as it develops new principles for military AI work. Google recently promises that it will not allow its artificial intelligence technology to be used for the development of weaponry.