More than 3,000 Google employees have reportedly signed a letter protesting the company’s work with the Pentagon that could help with drone strikes. The letter, obtained by The New York Times, includes the line: “We believe that Google should not be in the business of war”. Dozens of senior engineers have added their name to the letter, which has been circulating internally for weeks. It calls on the company to stop working on Project Maven, a Pentagon pilot programme that uses artificial intelligence to analyse video imagery. Those signing the letter, which is addressed to Sundar Pichai, the Google chief executive, also want a promise that the company will never “build warfare technology”. The clash emphasises the challenges Google faces to live up to its motto – “don't be evil” – in a world of rapidly advancing technology. The letter has reportedly garnered more than 3,100 signatures from Google’s 70,000-strong workforce. One section quoted by The New York Times warns that embracing military work could put off other customers. “This plan will irreparably damage Google’s brand and its ability to compete for talent,” the letter says. “Amid growing fears of biased and weaponised AI [artificial intelligence], Google is already struggling to keep the public’s trust.” Another part reads: “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.” Google said in a statement to The New York Times that Project Maven is using “open-source object recognition software available to any Google Cloud customer”. It added: “The technology is used to flag images for human review and is intended to save lives and save people from having to do highly tedious work.” The company also said the project was “specifically scoped to be for non-offensive purpose”.
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