Google updated its ethics policy on artificial intelligence Tuesday, deleting a pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance. The update to the “AI Principles,” announced Tuesday, is a significant turn for the California-based tech giant.
Previous Google guidelines had vowed not to develop AI technologies that would cause harm, citing an avoidance of weapons and surveillance in contravention of “internationally accepted norms.” The new policy says only that the company will pursue AI “responsibly” and is “guided by widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.” It avoids mention of any prohibition on the development of AI for weapons or surveillance.
Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis and James Manyika, senior vice president of research labs, wrote in the blog post: “Democracies should be leading in the development of AI to core values such as freedom, equality, and human rights.” They pressed for a path of collaboration on creating AI that protects individuals, fosters global growth, and enhances national security among companies, governments, and organizations with aligned values.
Google initially set up its AI guidelines in 2018 after an internal backlash against its work with the U.S. Department of Defense on a project called Maven, which uses AI to identify military targets. The backlash caused the company not to renew its Pentagon contract.
Many employees quit while thousands signed petitions against the project. It also pulled out later in the year from the competition for a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon due to concerns about alignment with its AI principles.
The revised ethics policy comes after the CEO of parent company Alphabet Inc., Sundar Pichai, attended the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who promptly rescinded an executive order by former President Joe Biden. That order required companies working on AI to share safety test results first with the federal government before their public release amid a broader push to develop regulatory frameworks around the nascent technology.
