Google employees write to Sundar Pichai to pull out of 'business of war'
The letter to Pichai had been reportedly going around Google's internal communication server for several weeks where it collected around 3,100 signatures.
- Apr 6, 2018,
- Updated Apr 6, 2018 10:09 PM IST
Thousands of Google employees have signed a letter addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai protesting the tech giant's involvement in a project to develop artificial intelligence tools for the Pentagon. The employees have told the Google chief executive that the company should not be in the "business of war" as it would be a big blow to the company's image.
The letter to Pichai had been reportedly going around Google's internal communication server for several weeks where it collected around 3,100 signatures. The letter talks about opting out of Project Maven, a United States Department of Defense programme to develop customised AI engine."We believe that Google should not be in the business of war. Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicize and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology," said the opening of the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times.
Under Project Maven, Google is developing an artificial intelligence engine that uses "Wide Area Motion Imagery" data captured by US Government drones to detect vehicles and other objects, track their motions. This technology could arguably be used to operate drone strikes and conduct drone strikes, which has got Google employees worried.
The letter talks about Googlers voicing concerns over Project Maven internally, which were addressed by Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene. While this has allayed some of the fears, Google employees are still not entirely sure about the implementation of the AI engine.
"Recently, Googlers voiced concerns about Maven internally. Diane Greene responded, assuring them that the technology will not "operate or fly drones" and "will not be used to launch weapons." While this eliminates a narrow set of direct applications, the technology is being built for the military, and once it's delivered it could easily be used to assist in these tasks," the letter said.
Employees are worried that developing technologies that could be used for warfare will harm the Google's brand and it ability to compete for talent. In the letter, they reiterated the company's motto - Don't Be Evil - adding that the argument that other firms, including Amazon and Microsoft, are already doing this does not make it okay for Google to join them.
"We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties. Google's stated values make this clear: Every one of our users is trusting us. Never jeopardize that. Ever. This contract puts Google's reputation at risk and stands in direct opposition to our core values. Building this technology to assist the US Government in military surveillance - and potentially lethal outcomes - is not acceptable, the letter said."
Thousands of Google employees have signed a letter addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai protesting the tech giant's involvement in a project to develop artificial intelligence tools for the Pentagon. The employees have told the Google chief executive that the company should not be in the "business of war" as it would be a big blow to the company's image.
The letter to Pichai had been reportedly going around Google's internal communication server for several weeks where it collected around 3,100 signatures. The letter talks about opting out of Project Maven, a United States Department of Defense programme to develop customised AI engine."We believe that Google should not be in the business of war. Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicize and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology," said the opening of the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times.
Under Project Maven, Google is developing an artificial intelligence engine that uses "Wide Area Motion Imagery" data captured by US Government drones to detect vehicles and other objects, track their motions. This technology could arguably be used to operate drone strikes and conduct drone strikes, which has got Google employees worried.
The letter talks about Googlers voicing concerns over Project Maven internally, which were addressed by Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene. While this has allayed some of the fears, Google employees are still not entirely sure about the implementation of the AI engine.
"Recently, Googlers voiced concerns about Maven internally. Diane Greene responded, assuring them that the technology will not "operate or fly drones" and "will not be used to launch weapons." While this eliminates a narrow set of direct applications, the technology is being built for the military, and once it's delivered it could easily be used to assist in these tasks," the letter said.
Employees are worried that developing technologies that could be used for warfare will harm the Google's brand and it ability to compete for talent. In the letter, they reiterated the company's motto - Don't Be Evil - adding that the argument that other firms, including Amazon and Microsoft, are already doing this does not make it okay for Google to join them.
"We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties. Google's stated values make this clear: Every one of our users is trusting us. Never jeopardize that. Ever. This contract puts Google's reputation at risk and stands in direct opposition to our core values. Building this technology to assist the US Government in military surveillance - and potentially lethal outcomes - is not acceptable, the letter said."