Google pledges to not work on weapons after Project Maven backlash

Google has pledged to never work on artificial intelligence weapons projects, laying down the principle after a collaboration with the US military fomented an employee revolt. The technology giant recently announced it would discontinue work with the Department of Defense on Project Maven, an artificial intelligence project that analyses imagery and could be used to enhance the efficiency of drone strikes. Thousands of employees had signed onto a letter warning that Google's participation contravened the company's ethical tenets. Stating that "Google should not be in the business of war", the letter warned that the company's involvement would compromise its image and drive away potential employees. Google'ditches contract with US military' after employee revolt Google quietly removes'don't be evil' preface from code of conduct Hundreds of AI experts call on Google to stop weaponizing technology Google'ditches contract with US military' after employee revolt Google quietly removes'don't be evil' preface from code of conduct A blog post by CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the underlying debate, establishing guidelines for future artificial intelligence (AI) projects that pledged to ensure the work benefits society and eschew "technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm".