AI talent appears open to working on defense -- with caveats

A new survey offers some evidence that most artificial intelligence experts are positive or neutral when it comes to working with the Pentagon on AI-enabled projects. Why it matters: Employee concerns have led some tech companies to pull back from working on defense-related projects in the past, but for many in the AI world, the chance to work on intellectually challenging projects -- and the Pentagon's not insignificant budget -- seems too good to pass up. What's happening: In a report released earlier this week -- with the memorable title "'Cool Projects' or'Expanding the Efficiency of the Murderous American War Machine?'" -- researchers at CSET surveyed 160 AI professionals about their attitudes toward working on DoD projects. Flashback: In 2018, after thousands of employees signed a protest letter, Google CEO Sundar Pichai pulled out of a contract to work on Project Maven, a DoD-funded pilot AI program to develop computer vision algorithms. Yes, but: That narrative was "overblown," argues New America's Singer.