Google ditches Department of Defense, updates its code of ethics

Update: In response to backlash from Google employees, the company has decided to end its relationship with the Department of Defense after its current contract expires in 2019, as Gizmodo reports. The announcement appears to have been made this morning, just one day after The Intercept published information indicating Google was more deeply involved with the DoD than previously stated. Next week, the company plans to release an updated code of ethics, as Gizmodo notes. It looks like the seemingly-never-ending fiasco over Google's involvement with the Pentagon's Project Maven isn't going away any time soon. Internal emails from last September acquired by The Intercept show that higher-ups among Google's AI researchers had plans to continue ramping up military involvement, and also that they knew there would be a media field day once word got out (hi).