commondreams.org
Wednesday, April 04, 2018
"By entering into this contract, Google will join the ranks of companies like Palantir, Raytheon, and General Dynamics."
More than 3,000 Google employees have signed a letter that's circulating in the company demanding that the tech giant end its involvement in Project Maven, a Pentagon program that could be used to develop drone technology.
The project, the workers argue, runs counter to the company's stated mission and motto.
"By entering into this contract, Google will join the ranks of companies like Palantir, Raytheon, and General Dynamics," wrote the employees, who include senior engineers. "The argument that other firms, like Microsoft and Amazon, are also participating doesn't make this any less risky for Google. Google's unique history, its motto 'Don’t Be Evil,' and its direct reach into the lives of billions of users set it apart."
"We believe that Google should not be in the business of war...Building this technology to assist the U.S. Government in military surveillance—and potentially lethal outcomes—is not acceptable." —Google employees
The letter (pdf) comes weeks after reports surfaced that Google was implementing Project Maven, an artificial intelligence surveillance tool, to interpret video imagery—likely in order to improve the targeting of drone strikes. Some Google employees condemned the company's involvement in a recent company-wide meeting, before circulating the letter, according to the New York Times.
"We believe that Google should not be in the business of war," wrote the employees. "Therefore we ask that Project Maven be canceled, and that Google draft, publicize, and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology."
Google has said the technology it's developing is "non-offensive," while former chief executive Eric Schmidt, who still sits on the board of Google parent company as well as the Pentagon advisory board, claimed in November that the military would use artificial intelligence like Project Maven "to help keep the country safe."
The Google employees issued a clear rejection of Schmidt's suggestion, writing, "This contract puts Google's reputation at risk and stands in direct opposition to our core values. Building this technology to assist the U.S. government in military surveillance—and potentially lethal outcomes—is not acceptable."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
FRIENDS: Now More Than Ever
Independent journalism has become the last firewall against government and corporate lies. Yet, with frightening regularity, independent media sources are losing funding, closing down or being blacked out by Google and Facebook. Never before has independent media been more endangered. If you believe in Common Dreams, if you believe in people-powered independent media, please support us now and help us fight—with truths—against the lies that would smother our democracy. Please help keep Common Dreams alive and growing. Thank you. -- Craig Brown, Co-founder
Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs
No comments:
Post a Comment