Seven years ago, the tech giant Alphabet faced a crisis. Employees revolted after it emerged that its Google subsidiary had agreed a drone contract with the Pentagon. Petitions were signed demanding the company get out of the “business of war”. Workers walked out in protest. The company caved.
It pulled out of the Pentagon deal, and under duress, drew a line in the sand, publishing a list of seven types of AI application that it would not pursue. These ranged from weapons and surveillance systems to “technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm”.
Last week, the $2.4 trillion Alphabet quietly deleted those principles and signalled that it was, in fact, ready to dive back into the business of war. “Google is updating