Google has silently eliminated its former commitments prohibiting the use of AI for weapons and surveillance from its ethical guidelines. The reversal was announced yesterday through a blog post, undoing promises made in 2018 due to employee objections to Project Maven, a Pentagon drone surveillance agreement.
This change in policy indicates a trend of Silicon Valley aligning more closely with the defense industry amidst heightened global tensions. Entities such as OpenAI and Anthropic have begun collaborating with US defense entities, potentially hastening the integration of AI in military settings.