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We had submissions from two Soylentils concerning recent employee reaction to Google's participation in the Pentagon's "Project Maven" program:
Google Workers Urge C.E.O. to Pull Out of Pentagon A.I. Project
Submitted via IRC for fyngyrz
Thousands of Google employees, including dozens of senior engineers, have signed a letter protesting the company's involvement in a Pentagon program that uses artificial intelligence to interpret video imagery and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes.
The letter [pdf], which is circulating inside Google and has garnered more than 3,100 signatures, reflects a culture clash between Silicon Valley and the federal government that is likely to intensify as cutting-edge artificial intelligence is increasingly employed for military purposes.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/technology/google-letter-ceo-pentagon-project.html
Google Employees on Pentagon AI Algorithms: "Google Should Not be in the Business of War"
Thousands of Google employees have signed a letter protesting the development of "Project Maven", which would use machine learning algorithms to analyze footage from U.S. military drones:
Last month, it was announced that Google was offering its resources to the US Department of Defense for Project Maven, a research initiative to develop computer vision algorithms that can analyze drone footage. In response, more than 3,100 Google employees have signed a letter urging Google CEO Sundar Pichai to reevaluate the company's involvement, as "Google should not be in the business of war," as reported by The New York Times.
Work on Project Maven began last April, and while details on what Google is actually providing to the DOD are not clear, it is understood that it's a Pentagon research initiative for improved analysis of drone footage. In a press statement, a Google spokesperson confirmed that the company was giving the DOD access to its open-source TensorFlow software, used in machine learning applications that are capable of understanding the contents of photos.
Previously: Google vs Maven
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Hartree on Thursday April 05 2018, @03:52PM (2 children)
We've all heard of greenwashing where people caught up in the western tech based economy lull their guilt by buying free range chicken and contracting with "green" power sources. (I still would like to know how they tell that a particular photon carrying an electromagnetic potential they're buying comes about from a windmill as opposed to the coal plant connected to the same grid, but I guess I just "don't get it").
This strikes me as "peace-washing". By getting rid of a particular image analysis AI program they can feel completely guiltless over all the other directly and indirectly defense related things a massive corporation like Google does. Tell, me how many beltway bandit DOD contractors are doing there computing on Googles cloud? How much is youtube helping out intelligence/law enforcement/military agencies with intelligence on who posted what extremist related video? This is like trying to preach chastity in a bordello.
I can hear the voice of Lando Calrissian frantically calling out "It's not my fault!".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 05 2018, @09:20PM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by Hartree on Thursday April 05 2018, @10:19PM
Oh, I understand the idea. It's financial measure about directing your money in such a way as to promote one type of energy source with better environmental impacts over another that has more impact.
But when I here someone saying they get all of their power from green sources, it's just too much a temptation to not give them a hard time about it. ;)