This week, Google announced the removal of a policy installed in 2018 after widespread resistance from many of its employees, which explicitly prohibited the development of technology and AI for war and surveillance purposes.
Although the company has been awarded lucrative contracts from various military institution in the meantime, PLATFORM WARS’ PI Marijn Hoijtink sees more than a mere formalization of ongoing practices in this decision as expressed in interviews with Radio1 and the Flemish newspaper De Morgen: "The difference, though, is that Google is now openly saying this is the new policy". Asked about the background and timing of the announcement, she points to the growing importance of AI in the geopolitical confrontation with China, but also to changes in US politics and culture:
"Since the election of Donald Trump, Republican voices within Silicon Valley have become very dominant. Just think of Elon Musk or Peter Thiel. Or to us lesser-known figures like Alex Karp of Palantir, who are the bridge between Big Tech and the defense industry. They now market themselves as guardians of Western democracy. It's no coincidence that companies like Microsoft and OpenAI are winning new military contracts. Google wants a piece of that pie."
Jessica Dorsey, PI of the Realities of Algorithmic Warfare project, argues in a similar vein, when asked by the Dutch newspaper Trouw about Google’s intentions: "Almost all advanced armies are investing in innovations, including AI systems, in these high political times. For companies like Google, there is a lot of money to be made from this and they don't want to fall behind each other".
The problem with these developments, as mentioned by both, is that they create growing dependencies and increasingly hinder regulatory efforts. As Jessica Dorsey points out: "For the companies,there are virtually no regulations in the area of warfare with AI, even though there are great risks involved". And Marijn Hoijtink concludes: "We need to think about what roles those companies are allowed to fulfill, before we become dependent on them on every level".
