Google employees urge CEO Sundar Pichai to cancel Pentagon AI contract

Thousands of Google employees have signed a letter demanding the company withdraws from the'business of war' in light of involvement in a Pentagon-led AI project. The letter, first seen by The New York Times, was signed by more than 3,100 employees and follows news last month that Google would lend its TensorFlow programming kits to be used in a US Department of Defense project, dubbed Project Maven, aimed at improving military drone performance by analysing footage via computer vision algorithms. Addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai, the letter stated: "We believe that Google should not be in the business of war. Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicise and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology." The letter's signatories argue Google's involvement may cause "irreparable damage" to its brand, while raising deep ethical concerns "amid growing fears of biased and weaponized AI" - caustically citing the company's infamous motto'Don't Be Evil'.