The parent firm of Google, Alphabet, has renounced its pledge to never employ artificial intelligence (AI) for things like creating surveillance tools and weaponry.
A part of the company’s AI usage guidelines that prohibited applications that were “likely to cause harm” has been removed.
Demis Hassabis, the head of Google DeepMind’s AI unit, and James Manyika, senior vice president of Google, defended the decision in a blog post.
They contend that cooperation on AI that “supports national security” is necessary between corporations and democratic governments.
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Experts and professionals in artificial intelligence disagree on how best to protect humans from threats, how much commercial gain should dictate the course of this potent new technology, and how broadly it should be managed.
The application of AI in surveillance systems and on the battlefield is equally controversial.
The blog stated that since the technology had advanced, the company’s initial AI principles, which were released in 2018, needed to be revised.
“AI is being used in daily life by billions of people. AI has developed into a platform that many businesses and individuals utilize to create applications, and it is now a general-purpose technology.
“It has moved from a niche research topic in the lab to a technology that is becoming as pervasive as mobile phones and the internet itself,” the post read.
Accordingly, baseline AI concepts that may direct common techniques were also being established.
But according to Mr. Hassabis and Mr. Manyika, the geopolitical environment is become more complicated.
“We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality and respect for human rights,” the post read.
“And we believe that companies, governments and organisations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth and supports national security.”
The blog post, which was released shortly before Alphabet’s year-end financial report, revealed numbers that fell short of market expectations and caused the share price to decline.
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Despite this, its largest source of income, digital advertising, saw a 10% increase in revenue due to US election spending.
The corporation stated in its earnings report that it would invest $75 billion ($60 billion) in AI initiatives this year, which is 29% higher than what Wall Street analysts had predicted.
The business is spending money on the necessary infrastructure to support AI research, AI apps, and AI-powered search.
Google’s AI platform Gemini now appears at the top of Google search results, offering an AI written summary, and pops up on Google Pixel phones.
Originally, long before the current surge of interest in the ethics of AI, Google’s founders, Sergei Brin and Larry Page, said their motto for the firm was “don’t be evil”. When the company was restructured under the name Alphabet Inc in 2015 the parent company switched to “Do the right thing”.
Since then Google staff have sometimes pushed back against the approach taken by their executives. In 2018 the firm did not renew a contract for AI work with the US Pentagon following a resignations and a petition signed by thousands of employees.
They were concerned that “Project Maven” was the precursor to the deadly application of artificial intelligence.
SOURCE: BBC
