Google has taken away its ethics rules that stopped its artificial intelligence from being used in weapons and spying.
On January 30, the tech giant announced that its AI would not be used for weapons, spying, or other technologies that could cause harm.
The Independent has reached out to Google for a response.
In a blog post on Tuesday, top company leaders in AI stated that there is a worldwide race for AI leadership happening against a complicated international background.
“We think that democracies should be in charge of AI development, focusing on important values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights,” the post says. “We think that companies, governments, and organizations that share these values should work together to create AI that keeps people safe, helps the economy grow, and supports national security.”
In 2018, the company stopped using its AI for weapons after employees protested against a deal with the Defense Department for using Google technology to analyze drone videos.
Changes at Google reflect a bigger trend in the tech industry, where companies are becoming more open to working with U.S. defense and intelligence agencies. This is happening as some tech leaders, like Elon Musk, are moving towards more conservative political views.
In December, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced a deal with another tech company, Anduril, to create technology for defending against drones in the military.
OpenAI had previously prohibited its technology from being used by the military, but last year it changed its rules to allow some partnerships.
OpenAI told The Wall Street Journal that the technology created with Anduril will only be used for defensive purposes. CEO Sam Altman mentioned that the company aims to make sure this technology supports democratic ideals.
Anthropic, another big AI business, is working with Palantir and Amazon Web Services to help defense agencies.
Palantir, Anduril, OpenAI, Saronic, and Scale AI are said to be discussing a partnership with Musk’s SpaceX to compete for major Pentagon contracts. They aim to go up against established companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Although the tech industry has usually supported Democratic candidates, it is now actively collaborating with the new administration. Tech companies donated millions to Trump’s inauguration fund, and the CEOs of Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Google were present at the swearing-in ceremony last month.
Musk’s actions show a big change. He used to support Democrats but has now spent over $290 million supporting Trump. He is also influencing how the federal government spends money through his new cost-cutting program, which is raising concerns about ethics because his companies have many contracts with the government.
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The tech industry believes that working more closely with the defense sector is important because of China’s fast progress in AI. This includes the launch of DeepSeek, an AI assistant from a Chinese company that competes with those in the U.S. but was made at a much lower cost, causing U.S. stocks to drop.
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