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Google promises ethical principles to guide development of military AI
Google is drawing up a set of guidelines that will steer its involvement in developing AI tools for the military, according to a report from The New York Times. What exactly these guidelines will stipulate isn't clear, but Google says they will include a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in weaponry. The principles are expected to be announced in full in the coming weeks. They are a response to the controversy over the company's decision to develop AI tools for the Pentagon that analyze drone surveillance footage.
[...] But the question facing these employees (and Google itself) is: where do you draw the line? Does using machine learning to analyze surveillance footage for the military count as "weaponized AI"? Probably not. But what if that analysis informs future decisions about drone strikes? Does it matter then? How would Google even know if this had happened?
Also at VentureBeat and Engadget.
Previously: Google vs Maven
Google Employees on Pentagon AI Algorithms: "Google Should Not be in the Business of War"
About a Dozen Google Employees Have Resigned Over Project Maven
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:00AM (3 children)
When you are in the USA, you support your country. Maybe, sometimes, a few allies: NATO, Five Eyes, Japan, South Korea, possibly even Israel or Taiwan... but that's pushing it. Really, you support the USA.
Google should do self-driving for military vehicles, mapping support for the NRO, data collection for the NSA, covert communication for the CIA, etc.
BTW, from personal experience, it is damn satisfying to work for a company that serves the USA. My company makes bombs. Fuck yeah, `MURICA!!!! We even make a gun turret that automatically aims and fires without human involvement, letting lose a spray of 20mm shells that are tracked by radar to help fine-tune the targeting. We also make a beam weapon that is, if you don't crank the power up, less exciting than when you do. We pwn everything. We make shoulder-fired missiles that can do a top-down attack. Maybe we even make landmines. You know, there exist landmines that create a mesh network and then hop around to fill in any gaps created due to mineclearing operations. Little fuckers are scary. :-)
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:50AM
Indeed, what's more patriotic than conducting unconstitutional mass surveillance on the populace?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday May 31 2018, @09:55AM
Until your country equips its police with the very deadly stuff the Army is using.
Then, wrong place at the wrong time, your luck may make you unable to support anything at all in the 'one with the environment' state you may find yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:17PM
You may feel all fuzzy about this kind of stuff, but I think it is disgusting, and I wouldn't want to work with it. And demand for my skills is high, so I won't starve due to my choice. Many googlers are in the same position.