Google says its military AI work will be guided by ethical principles

Google's Pentagon contract and its involvement with the military's Project Maven has stirred controversy both outside of and within the company. Its plan to provide AI technology that can help flag drone images for human review has led to an internal petition signed by thousands of employees who oppose the decision as well as a number of resignations. Now, the New York Times reports that Google is working on a set of guidelines aimed at steering the company's decisions regarding defense and intelligence contracts. Last week, CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that the company wanted to develop principles that "stood the test of time," according to those present for his remarks, and Google told the New York Times that those guidelines would prohibit the use of AI in weaponry. How they will do that is currently unclear, but employees said they expected the principles to be announced internally within the next few weeks.