Google Employees Protest Against Involvement Pentagon Drone Project

Google is under fire from its own employees. The tech giant is helping the Pentagon develop artificial intelligence which can be used to analyze drone footage. The use of drones by the military is controversial due to their legal, ethical, and military strategic issues. The US has also frequently used armed drones to carry out extrajudicial killings, often resulting in many innocent victims, without any transparency nor accountability

The petition, signed by over three thousand employees including senior engineers, opens with the following:

 

“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.”

 

The AI developed by Google would help the Department of Defense track vehicles and objects through “Wide Area Motion Imagery” gathered by drones. A Google Board of Directors member has given her assurance that the technology would not be used to fly the drones, nor to launch weapons from them. However, many worry that once the technology is delivered to the military, it can easily be applied for such purposes.

The signers of the petition also noted that any assistance to military (and lethal) force would harm Google’s reputation amid widespread concerns in the tech industry of ‘killer robots’ and weaponized artificial intelligence, and would also contrast with the fact that billions of users trust Google with their data. The employees also reiterated Google’s motto: “Don’t Be Evil” and underscored the moral and ethical responsibility of the company. It is unclear whether the petition will have any impact.

You can read the full petition here.