So it says it will improve drone strike accuracy. Isn’t it a good thing? I mean there are currently a lot of civilian casualties from drone strikes, but that doesn’t stop anyone from using them anyway. Wouldn’t at least improving accuracy make thinks better in some regard?
Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
151–160 of 1001 posts
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#152This may be an uncomfortable fact but people have surprisingly short memories: the military funded the majority of the early advances in systems, networking, and cryptography (and especially as a large part of the latter subject area, invested heavily in fundamental, theoretical research). Not saying that I disagree with the employees' opinion, just that DoD/Pentagon involvement in artificial intelligence research sh…
What's theoretical about drone strikes?
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nobody cares how many dimes those drones cost. War isn’t fought using the cheapest means available, but the most effective. Have you seen the size of the U.S. military budget? This country will continue to meddle in international affairs and, on occasion, get involved in bloody battles. Such is life. War is an integral part of our civilization and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. You can’t just wish…
I feel like this would all be a little more interesting coming from a different username.
The point is certainly valid. If Google steps out of this, they are just going to find someone to fill those shoes.
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#154This may be an uncomfortable fact but people have surprisingly short memories: the military funded the majority of the early advances in systems, networking, and cryptography (and especially as a large part of the latter subject area, invested heavily in fundamental, theoretical research). Not saying that I disagree with the employees' opinion, just that DoD/Pentagon involvement in artificial intelligence research sh…
You are saying that military R&D is important no matter what they are involved in. This incredibly stupid reasoning can be used to justify the development viruses that can erradicate the human species. > DoD/Pentagon involvement in artificial intelligence research shouldn't be viewed as a necessarily bad thing. Let's be spesific: they are using current AI algorithms to track everyone's movements from airborn imagery.…
I'll take this over massive world wars.
I'd rather have neither, but I'm realistic.
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#155I for one would rather have a drone strike program that actually actively avoids civilian casualties as much as possible. There are certainly gray areas here as far as the use of that program from a political standpoint (whether the strikes are warranted or whether it is part of regime changes). On the other hand, by not helping the military become more efficient we also risk losing existing lives (our own and civili…
> I for one would rather have a drone strike program that actually actively avoids civilian casualties as much as possible.
Then “AI” should be the least of your worries. Not everything is a software problem.
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#156This may be an uncomfortable fact but people have surprisingly short memories: the military funded the majority of the early advances in systems, networking, and cryptography (and especially as a large part of the latter subject area, invested heavily in fundamental, theoretical research). Not saying that I disagree with the employees' opinion, just that DoD/Pentagon involvement in artificial intelligence research sh…
The military also funded advances in airplanes, trucks, and medicine, but that doesn't mean that doctors should have no qualms about working on biological weapons.
Also, many people, including myself, consider drone strikes to be state-sponsored terrorism. Just because some part of the military may be justifiable, does not mean all of it is.
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#157"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…
They'll start at image recognition and they'll end up doing much more in the end, especially if their government contracts keep increasing in value. Why go down this path at all? Google doesn't need to be a war contractor (I think "defense contractor" is a misnomer these days - we all know what this tech is used for: bloody violent and usually unfair/illegal war ). Google should avoid becoming a sponsor of death in t…
The defenders of american military in this thread have forgotten that for the past half century, the american war machine has commited war crimes across the world.
If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdD9uSrNFT4
https://chomsky.info/1990____-2/
It is commendable that employees with moral fibre at google are saying no to the industrial war machine, that feeds on global conflict.
And there is no apriori reason as to argue that military funding is the only way to do ground breaking research. Ironic that some in the political spectrum who generally defend the military also feverently view goverment spending as inefficient to markets.
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#158This may be an uncomfortable fact but people have surprisingly short memories: the military funded the majority of the early advances in systems, networking, and cryptography (and especially as a large part of the latter subject area, invested heavily in fundamental, theoretical research). Not saying that I disagree with the employees' opinion, just that DoD/Pentagon involvement in artificial intelligence research sh…
Completely agree. If it isn't Google it'll be someone else. I think DoD/Pentagon put up the funding for what later became Google maps. Not to mention the GPS constellation we all enjoy using. Its a shame progress has to be made through these channels but it has proved very effective in the past.
If it isn't Google it'll be someone else.
The obvious reply is: great, then we're not needed, let someone else do it!
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
As an engineer I have serious moral qualms about not furthering the goals of our military. After all, I would not be here, and my job would not exist, and the freedom I have to do this work would not exist, if soldiers like my grandfather hadn't stepped up to Hitler and Stalin and Mao and say "No, you're wrong, and we're willing to use violence to protect our way of life". Just my 2c but I definitely respect the ulti…
Nobody stood up to Stalin and Mao. Cherry picking the good stuff doesn’t make the bad stuff acceptable. Carpet bombing of civilians in German cities for example - an act of zero military value. The takeaway from WWII is not that the military is a wonderful thing but that the UN is a wonderful thing.
The only thing the UN has shown is how utterly weak it is. It's ability to force compliance is limited to those members willingness to do so. It's just another puppet of the superpowers.
Re: Google Workers Urge C.E.O. To Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
#160This may be an uncomfortable fact but people have surprisingly short memories: the military funded the majority of the early advances in systems, networking, and cryptography (and especially as a large part of the latter subject area, invested heavily in fundamental, theoretical research). Not saying that I disagree with the employees' opinion, just that DoD/Pentagon involvement in artificial intelligence research sh…
It still is. It is not necessary for world peace to help the Pentagon to build better killing machines.
Unless you're the one getting shot