Google erases promise not to use AI technology for weapons or surveillance

New York CNN — Google’s updated, public AI ethics policy removes its promise that it won’t use the technology to pursue applications for weapons and surveillance.

In a previous version of the principles seen by CNN on the internet archive Wayback Machine, the company included applications it won’t pursue. One such category was weapons or other technology intended to injure people. Another was the technology used to surveil beyond international norms.

That language is gone on the updated principles page.

Since OpenAI launched the chatbot ChatGPT in 2022, the artificial intelligence race has advanced at a dizzying pace. While AI has boomed in use, legislation and regulations on transparency and ethics in AI have yet to catch up – and now Google seems to have loosened self-imposed restrictions.

In a blog post Tuesday, senior Vice President of Research, labs, technology & society James Manyika and Google DeepMind head Demis Hassabis said that AI frameworks published by democratic countries have deepened Google’s “understanding of AI’s potential and risks.”

“There’s a global competition taking place for AI leadership within an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights,” the blog post said.

The post continued, “We believe that companies, governments, and organizations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security.”

Google first published its AI Principles in 2018, years before the technology became almost ubiquitous. Google’s update is a sharp reversal in values from those originally published principles.

In 2018, Google dropped a $10 billion bid for a cloud computing Pentagon contract, saying at the time “we couldn’t be assured that it would align with our AI Principles.” More than 4,000 employees had signed a petition that year demanding “a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology,” and about a dozen employees resigned in protest.

CNN has reached out to Google for comment.

CNN’s Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.