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Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project

nytimes.com

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Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project

#2
"As Google defends its contracts from internal dissent, its competitors have not been shy about publicizing their own work on defense projects. Amazon touts its image recognition work with the Department of Defense, and Microsoft has promoted the fact that its cloud technology won a contract to handle classified information for every branch of the military and defense agencies."

Google should stop hiring activists and start hiring pragmatists.

Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project

#3
On one hand, I reluctantly appreciate Trump's election because it will force silicon valley to think many times before readily giving up user privacy to the US government. I felt like the attitude was very lax under Obama (despite the Snowden revelations).

On the other hand, this bothers me a bit because it continues to allow people in the valley to maintain a (sorry to use this word) delusion that what they are doing is "moral". If Google stops working with the Pentagon after this petition, people in the valley will pat their backs and enjoy how they are making the world a better place. They will not have any incentive to rethink the sale of user data to advertisers, creating highly addictive mentally harmful products, etc.

Overall, it's good that at least people in the valley are somewhat mindful of their actions and care about society (compared my current industry, finance). I hope they can be successful at a deeper level.

Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project

#5
Google+Alphabet yearly revenues are in the same ballpark as South Africa's GDP.

Google/Alphabet is already a country in its own right, and libertarians would already be sceptical of Google's role in society.

This is just another step down a long road of Technocracy...

Also, wasn't "Don't be evil" dropped as a motto? I thought I read that.

Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project

#6
post #2

"As Google defends its contracts from internal dissent, its competitors have not been shy about publicizing their own work on defense projects. Amazon touts its image recognition work with the Department of Defense, and Microsoft has promoted the fact that its cloud technology won a contract to handle classified information for every branch of the military and defense agencies." Google should stop hiring activists an…

"Google won't take a defense contract and has shed defense projects in the past" was a common theme at Google. Recruiters and employees actively advertised this as a feature of Google's not being evil.

Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project

#10
>"...that uses artificial intelligence to interpret video imagery and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes."

These drone strikes have been happening for decades without interpretive AI, and they will probably continue with or without. So let's make the strikes more precise and save more civilians.

>"But improved analysis of drone video could be used to pick out human targets for strikes, while also better identifying civilians to reduce the accidental killing of innocent people."

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