After a dozen employees quit in protest, Google has reportedly decided not to renew its contract for military drone initiative Project Maven (GOOG, GOOGL)

Google I/O 2018 sundar pichai

The pressure to stop working with the military appears to have been too much for Google as the company reportedly will not renew a contract to build artificial intelligence tools for the Pentagon.
According to Gizmodo, company managers notified employees during a meeting Friday.
Google's relationship with the Department of Defense triggered a civil war inside the company and cast doubt on Google's commitment to its old motto: "Don't be evil."

Facing both public pressure and unrest from within its own company, Google will not renew its contract to help build artificial intelligence tools for the military, according to a report by Gizmodo's Kate Conger.

As part of an effort called Project Maven, Google provides the Pentagon with artificial intelligence technology that speeds up the process of analyzing video images. Google's participation in the program, which critics contend could help increase the accuracy of drone-missile strikes, sparked controversy both inside and outside of Google.

diane greene google Diane Greene, CEO of Google Cloud, informed employees of the company's decision on Friday, unnamed sources told Gizmodo. She said that the current contract expires in 2019 and won't be renewed, according to the report. Google did not respond to a request for comment.

When the extent of Google's participation in Project Maven became public, it ignited a civil war inside Google. A petition demanding that Google stop cooperating with the military and condemn the creation of AI weapons was signed by thousands of Google employees.

Later, about a dozen Google staffers resigned in protest. Academics and researchers also lashed out at Google for abandoning the company's original motto: "Don't be evil."

The full report from Gizmodo is worth reading, and includes details such as:

Diane Greene told employees that Google would not choose to pursue Maven because of the controversy it has stirred
The decision to work on AI for the military was made during a period when Google was "more aggressively pursuing military work"
Google will publish new principles next week to help govern how the company handles AI in the future.
Internal emails reviewed by Gizmodo show that Google executives “viewed Project Maven as a golden opportunity” to win other AI contracts, including those pertaining to the military and US intelligence groups.
The emails show that Google and partners labored to create “machine learning algorithms” and on a “sophisticated system that could surveil entire cities.”

Critics of Google's involvement with the military cheered the company's decision. The authors of a letter published last month that demanded Google pull out of Maven and signed by hundreds of academics, researchers and scientists issued a statement to Business Insider.

"We’re gratified to see Google take the decision not to renew its contract for Project Maven and to make the decision public," wrote Lucy Suchman, Lilly Irani, and Peter Asaro. "Google has promised to release its ethical policy regarding the development of artificial intelligence technologies next week."

The group says it hopes included in Google's new AI policy will be the promise to never use consumer data in military operations or for mass surveillance, as well as a pledge never to develop military AI applications.

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