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Palmer Luckey's firm wins Pentagon drone AI contract
Google may have backed out of the US military's Project Maven, but that doesn't mean other tech companies are unwilling to participate. The Intercept has learned that Oculus Rift co-founder Palmer Luckey's defense company, Anduril, won a contract to support the drone AI initiative in 2018. The firm will also support the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, according to newly obtained documents. While there aren't specifics around what that contract would entail, Project Maven relies on machine learning to detect people in drone videos and provide more effective intelligence data.
Ex-Pentagon official behind Project Maven ‘alarmed’ by Google withdrawal
Project Maven -- the deal through which Google is providing the Pentagon with AI software that can flag drone images that require further human review -- has been a thorn in the company's side for months. Google employees have spoken out against the project and their opposition ultimately led to the company deciding not to renew the contract when it expires next year. Now, former Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, who started the Project Maven initiative, is saying he's "alarmed" by Google's decision to walk away from the program.
Microsoft’s ICE involvement illustrates tech’s denial problem
Nearly a decade ago, I had the good fortune of being one of the last people to interview the founder of Commodore International, Jack Tramiel (famous for Commodore computers and the popular C64), before he passed away. At 83, he died from heart failure after pioneering the consumer market for personal computers and home gaming, and working toward changing people's lives for the better through technology.
Google reportedly won’t renew its controversial military AI contract
The controversial government contract that led thousands of Google employees to sign a petition in opposition and dozens to quit in protest will not be renewed, Gizmodo reports. Project Maven has been billed by Google as a small, "non-offensive" deal through which it would provide open-source AI software to the Pentagon that could help the military flag drone images requiring further human review. But the project has been decried by many of the company's employees who believe it could hurt efforts to hold the public's trust and went against Google's "Don't Be Evil" motto.
Google's military AI drone program may be more lucrative than it said
Google's Project Maven program for AI-based military drone image recognition program could net the company up to $250 million per year, according to internal memos seen by The Intercept. That's a lot more than the $9 million Google reportedly told employees the contract was worth. What's more, the program may be tied to a much bigger contract, possibly the US military's JEDI Cloud program.
Google employees reportedly quit over military drone AI project
Around a dozen Google employees have quit over the company's involvement in an artificial intelligence drone program for the Pentagon called Project Maven, Gizmodo reported today. Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 workers have now demanded an end to the company's participation in Maven in a petition that also calls for Google to avoid military work in the future.
Google employees petition CEO to drop out of Pentagon AI project
Over 3,100 Google employees have signed a petition opposing the company's part in a Pentagon AI program. The letter asked CEO Sundar Pichai to pull Google out of the project, which harnesses artificial intelligence to analyze video and could improve drone targeting. Further, it urged him to establish and enforce a policy that kept the company or its subsidiaries from ever building "warfare technology."
Google is helping US military train AI to study drone footage
The US military's Project Maven is getting some help using AI to interpret drone footage from a not-entirely-unexpected source: Google. The company has confirmed a Gizmodo report that it's offering TensorFlow programming kits to the Defense Department as part of a pilot that helps Project Maven process the glut of drone footage quickly. Google stresses that the machine learning technology is involved in "non-offensive uses only," and that it's flagging material for "human review." This isn't helping with drone strikes, then, but it has still raised concerns inside Google's ranks.
