Tech Giant says it will use AI in its updated ethical policy in line with “international law and human rights.”
Google has withdrawn its pledge not to use artificial intelligence for weapons and surveillance in its latest ethical policies on powerful technologies.
In previous versions of the “AI Principles,” the California-based internet giant has “highly likely to cause overall harm” AI, such as weapons and surveillance that violate “internationally accepted norms.” It included a commitment to not pursuing technology.
Google’s revised policy was announced on Tuesday. The company says it pursues AI “responsibly” and in line with “widely accepted principles of international law and human rights,” but does not include previous languages on weapons and surveillance.
“We believe that democracy should lead AI development led by core values such as freedom, equality and respect for human rights,” said James Manyika, Senior Vice President of Demis Hassabis at Google Deepmind and Research Labs. He said in a blog post announcing the updated policies.
“And companies, governments, and organizations that share these values need to cooperate in protecting people, promoting global growth, and creating AI to support national security. Masu.”
Google did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Google first published its list of AI principles in 2018 after employees protested the company’s participation in the US Department of Defense Project Maven. This has considered the use of AI to identify targets for drone strikes by the military.
Google has chosen not to renew its contract with the Pentagon following the backlash. This led to many staff members resigning and thousands of people signing petitions denounced the company’s involvement in the project.
Tech Giant announced later that year that it would no longer compete for a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon because it “couldn’t guarantee” it would match AI principles.
Google’s updated ethics policy has led to Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of parent company Alphabet Inc., joining technology leaders including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, to join the January 20th. He is expected to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Hours after taking office, Trump rescinded an executive order by former US President Joe Biden, who established certain guardrails for rapidly developing technologies.
Biden’s order required companies developing AI to share safety test results with the government before they can reveal new technologies to the public.