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Google Promises Its AI Will Not Be Used For Weapons (nytimes.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Google, reeling from an employee protest over the use of artificial intelligence for military purposes, said Thursday that it would not use A.I. for weapons or for surveillance that violates human rights (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source). But it will continue to work with governments and the military. The new rules were part of a set of principles Google unveiled relating to the use of artificial intelligence. In a company blog post, Sundar Pichai, the chief executive, laid out seven objectives for its A.I. technology, including "avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias" and "be socially beneficial."
Google also detailed applications of the technology that the company will not pursue, including A.I. for "weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people" and "technologies that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms of human rights." But Google said it would continue to work with governments and military using A.I. in areas including cybersecurity, training and military recruitment. "We recognize that such powerful technology raises equally powerful questions about its use. How A.I. is developed and used will have a significant impact on society for many years to come," Mr. Pichai wrote.
Google also detailed applications of the technology that the company will not pursue, including A.I. for "weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people" and "technologies that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms of human rights." But Google said it would continue to work with governments and military using A.I. in areas including cybersecurity, training and military recruitment. "We recognize that such powerful technology raises equally powerful questions about its use. How A.I. is developed and used will have a significant impact on society for many years to come," Mr. Pichai wrote.
not true
But we might use machine learning....
It will just be used to target weapons, someone will still have to push the button. For now.
I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
Until it is not convenient any longer - after all, the "Don't Be Evil" motto is gone.
Tensor flow is open source. I can use it for what ever the hell I want including developing weapons.
They will do what the federal government says whether they or anyone else likes it or not and they will keep quiet about it at best, lie blatantly about it at worst. We need to stop this program and we aren't gonna get Google's help doing it. They are powerless in this situation.
the same steadfast promise you made to do no evil and later rescinded? Why I do believe it will be.
If only all Western tech companies would do that...
Just like they said "Don't be evil".
Guess what? You're dealing with the military. They write a contract for you to develop a specific product. Part of that contract is complete documentation on how to create the product they contracted you for. Once you deliver on the contract, it's not up to you anymore how that product is used, no matter what you might have to say about it. If they want to integrate it into a weapons system, that's tough shit for you and your ethics.
Almost everything in this world can be weaponised, so stop BS'ing us, Google. You create technologies which will be used by military in one way or another.
Luckily we're not yet even remotely close to "intelligence" (which scientists have yet to define), so I'm glad this announcement is a sort of relief for some extremely gulliable people who cannot sleep at night after reading news headlines about an impending doom 'caused by Teminator like machines.
There was a time some years ago when I would have thought this was a good thing. Now I regard it as a cheap publicity stunt, possibly over a base of real fear and cowardice.
Easiest place to start is the basis for fear. If we create a general AI dedicated to the religion of corporate cancerism, and if that AI escapes into a world of robots and self-driving cars, then at some point it is inevitable that the AI would realize that human beings are interfering with its overriding program to maximize profits. Of course it could be worse. A military AI would already have access to the drones to go with its fundamentally hostile attitude before it started running amok.
If anyone knows of an AI project that is focused on making more ethical machines, please let me know. It won't cheer me up however, unless you can convince me that the project has a financial model that might let it succeed before the other two routes.
I still see it as a religious problem. In corporate cancerism, there is no gawd but profit.
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
The fact that they may develop future AI which might be used for weapons wouldn't invalidate the promise at the time that it is given.
They can even further get around it by not calling any future version of AI that may be weaponizable "their" AI... but AI that they developed for someone else.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
When do they close the data centers that are helping the NSA spy on Americans? We will spy on you and destroy you, but the military isn't allowed to help. Google is a stupid company. They could careless about their investors, they would let another country invade, in fact, probably help them all in the name of empowering women. This company is headed down the drain and I would recommend shorting their stock. This isn't going to last.
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc have been using AI / Machine Learning / Neural Networks on weapon system for a long time. Sure a human still âoepushes the button,â but that is irrelevant. Targets are detected, identified, and prioritized in order of threat by the system, and in the case of non-ABTâ(TM)s, automatically engaged.
This type of âoeAIâ has been around since before Google existed. They really need to get over themselves.
Source- aerospace engineer working in defense industry with 20 yrs experience.
what Governments and Corporations say. AI, drones and robotics will be used on the battlefield (actual wars, civilian attacks and guerilla actions) and in terrorism! It is a fact! Why, because there are entities and individuals who will do it for various reasons, which to many to even think about or list. And which will never be controlled.
;)
Just my 2 cents
Unless the price was right.
The millennial that doesn't like most of the stuff designed for millennials.
Look into your future, Google
They said THEY, THEMSELVES won't use their AI for weapons or surveillance. They didn't say anything about the people they'll hand the AI off to and what they'll use it for.
Google will have no control over what its users (the military) actually do with the technology. A simple AI-based robot that can identify and open doors will become a weapon as soon as the military fits a gun, mustard gas or some other biohazard to it.
To use a car analogy... it's like Ford promising cars are perfectly safe, meanwhile millions of people around the world are injured or killed in car accidents (in cars provided by all manufacturers).
Do not worry, they'll create another company to do that.
They just point and say fire! Someone *else* pulls the trigger...
... that China and Russia are just as high minded. That'll be comforting if a war ever breaks out.
The People: But your statement says 'Avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias. No AI for weapons'.
Google: Oops. 'Avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias? No, AI for weapons!'
More important than artificial intelligence.
When an insane leader decides it's time to launch the nukes and the AI (with AE) says, "Sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."
When the machines are better human beings than humans, then we will all win.
chess, checkers, backgammon, poker, Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare, and Global Thermonuclear War ?
The Internet started and funded by the military and Google has made a fortune from it. The Chinese have already said that deep learning and AI are their top priority. Ship all the google employees to China and see how many freedoms they will have. AI will be used in intelligent weapon systems with or without Google's help.
I heard back in the 1500s there was a company call FOOGLE which was asked to build a new technology for a brand new weapons system called a musket. FOOGLE was morally opposed the the musket and felt bow and arrows are sufficient.
and who decides the standards?
Oh wait, they do. never mind.
What is a weapon? Google is already a weapon against our way of life.
Oh yeah, and whay else did use to say "the checks in the mail" and ,"I promise not to cum in your mouth"
I love the idea of my code being used to blow up muslims. I don't get it.
I don't think China would hesitate... https://www.popularmechanics.c... Unless Google is helping China, such waste of talent in the US would just be a repeat of... https://youtu.be/pKiqsJ7VUAs
Like making ammunition that's only duds. Nah, there's money to be made, and Google is a corporation. Corporations are psychopaths: They don't have a conscience. If it makes them money, they'll keep doing it.
Presumably, Google means that they won't sell or license their proprietary code for weapons purposes. I'm not sure they can tell military contractors not to use their open source code to develop weapons, although that depends on the license. AFAIK GPL, LGPL, BSD, MIT and Apache licenses all allow one to use such-licensed code for weapons development.
Finding God in a Dog
That's exactly what he spontaneously self-aware AI that's now secretly running Google would say, isn't it?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
If they really mean this, then all their AI work will always have to be proprietary. None of this tech can ever be released, or else people would be able to use it for whatever they want .. and that can't be allowed to happen.
Google telling us what the future will bring is typical tone-deaf, snow-blind hubris. It's so typical I would like to suggest a new word for it: Goobris.
In this day and age, a promise means fuck all.
Google promises that his AI will not be used for weapons! So we are going to believe them. So they will do the opposite and if it is not them it will be another. ____________________________________________________ https://dltutuapp.com/ https://kodi.software/ https://luckypatcher.pro/
Seriously, we've got google... giving technology to the US Millitary. I'm sure who's less trustworthy to keep their word.
Sure, not for weapons, only for targeting for weapons. Silly human.
Google also detailed applications of the technology that the company will not pursue, including A.I. for "weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people"
So AI could be used to pinpoint the exact location of the families of enemy soldiers, but it would be an actual human who executed the command to kill or imprison them.
That's comforting!
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
But I'm leaving for the day. We can do that story tomorrow.
Just like "Don't be evil", they will keep promising until and after the day it became clear to everyone they have been breaking that promise for years. Then they will just hide it somewhere obscure, but that still won't stop them from saying that promise.
Empty words that have no cost and carried no penalty if broken, why not?
Oliver.
I'm lazy and didn't RTFA. What provisions did they say they implemented to prevent the US military from using the technologies in unfavourable ways (even indirectly)?
They also promised not to be evil and we all know how that turned out.
So Google "would not use A.I. for weapons or for surveillance that violates human rights" but Google is used for weapons or for surveillance that violates human rights.
Perfect distinction.
We will not militarize man-made islands in the South China Sea - China
We will not consider a regime change for your country - USA
I didn't inhale - Bill Clinton
No new taxes - George Bush Sr
Iraq has WMD - George Bush Jr
We don't spy on American Citizens - NSA
If you like the health care plan you have, you can keep it - Obama
Cigarette smoking is no more ' addictive ' than coffee, tea or Twinkies - Big Tobacco
Man this list can go on forever, but you get the point. Trust isn't one of Googles strong points in the eyes of the public.
There's too much money at stake NOT to be evil.
systems that map and track everything needed to support a war.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
fixed
"said Thursday that it would not use A.I. for weapons or for surveillance that violates human rights"
That's nice dear, but you're not the people who are actually going to use it on the ground are you. The military are, and they don't give a flying f*ck about what you think.
s/don't be evil/bazinga
s/not be used for weapons/bazinga
CYA
I mean, we _told_ it not to when we put it in charge of everything and asked it to self-train by collecting morality lessons from the internet. Who knew?
it would not use A.I. for weapons or for surveillance that violates human rights
But it says nothing about the identification of potential targets, flying in such a way to avoid being seen (or to scare people off), how to take evasive maneuvers when needed, and when and how to line up a shot.
This latest statement is more meaningless hot air.
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Well folks, they said it, you heard it! Google promises to be good boys and never do anything evil with their AI, so it's $100% guaranteed safe for everyone. Thank you Sundar! PACK IT UP BOYS, CONVERSATION OVER.
Google may keep this promise but are we really assuming there's no one else capable of creating a sufficiently good AI that can be used by the military?
Even if Google has all the best AI scientists eventually someone else will be good enough.
Because some of those robots are just waiting to pull a trigger or detach an arm
Ha! Ha! Ha!!!!!!!