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posted by janrinok on Monday May 14 2018, @11:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the courage-of-their-convictions dept.

Google Employees Resign in Protest Against Pentagon Contract

It's been nearly three months since many Google employees—and the public—learned about the company's decision to provide artificial intelligence to a controversial military pilot program known as Project Maven, which aims to speed up analysis of drone footage by automatically classifying images of objects and people. Now, about a dozen Google employees are resigning in protest over the company's continued involvement in Maven.

[...] The employees who are resigning in protest, several of whom discussed their decision to leave with Gizmodo, say that executives have become less transparent with their workforce about controversial business decisions and seem less interested in listening to workers' objections than they once did. In the case of Maven, Google is helping the Defense Department implement machine learning to classify images gathered by drones. But some employees believe humans, not algorithms, should be responsible for this sensitive and potentially lethal work—and that Google shouldn't be involved in military work at all.

Previously: Google vs Maven
Google Employees on Pentagon AI Algorithms: "Google Should Not be in the Business of War"


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  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday May 15 2018, @07:20PM (4 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @07:20PM (#680162)

    the media had been telling them, "We got this" for months and months. The media is hysterically bitter a year and a half later for being so wrong, "by a landslide."

    By a landslide of losing the popular vote, sure

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  • (Score: 2) by Oakenshield on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:01PM (3 children)

    by Oakenshield (4900) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:01PM (#680170)

    I think the point was that the media had been claiming it was going to be a landslide victory for HRC.

    By a landslide of losing the popular vote, sure

    Which is entirely irrelevant. The contest was played by the rules of the game. You don't win the World Series by getting the most hits. It's the runs that count.

    • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:08PM (2 children)

      by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:08PM (#680171)

      Yes, I'm aware what the rules are. I think we should change them because most of the reasoning behind the Electoral College really doesn't apply anymore.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact [wikipedia.org]

      The contest was played by the rules of the game.

      Not that Trump didn't imply he wouldn't accept the results if he lost, just to drive home to everybody again how big of a douchenozzle he is.

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      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Oakenshield on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:19PM (1 child)

        by Oakenshield (4900) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:19PM (#680176)

        Yes, I'm aware what the rules are. I think we should change them because most of the reasoning behind the Electoral College really doesn't apply anymore.

        Before you start changing the rules of the Electoral College which affect ALL of us, maybe you should start a little closer to home and get rid of all those DNC superdelegates that subvert the will of the Democratic voters in favor of party whims. I think the only reason most Electoral College reformists want change is sour grapes. Had things worked out the opposite way, Democrats would be holding up the Electoral College as the great savior that prevented Trump from being elected.

        • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:49PM

          by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday May 15 2018, @08:49PM (#680192)

          Before you start changing the rules of the Electoral College which affect ALL of us, maybe you should start a little closer to home and get rid of all those DNC superdelegates that subvert the will of the Democratic voters in favor of party whims.

          Sure, sounds like a good idea.

          I think the only reason most Electoral College reformists want change is sour grapes. Had things worked out the opposite way, Democrats would be holding up the Electoral College as the great savior that prevented Trump from being elected.

          Believe it or not, I was actually in favor of the NPVIC *before* the election. This latest debacle just reinforced that opinion.

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