Google bars uses of its artificial intelligence tech in weapons

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google will not allow its artificial intelligence software to be used in weapons or unreasonable surveillance efforts under new standards for its business decisions in the nascent field, the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) unit said on Thursday. The restriction could help Google management defuse months of protest by thousands of employees against the company's work with the U.S. military to identify objects in drone video. Google instead will seek government contracts in areas such as cybersecurity, military recruitment and search and rescue, Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said in a blog post bit.ly/2M8Pdkq on Thursday. "We want to be clear that while we are not developing AI for use in weapons, we will continue our work with governments and the military in many other areas," he said. Breakthroughs in the cost and performance of advanced computers have carried AI from research labs into industries such as defense and health in the last couple of years.