Google—Removed pledge not to develop AI for weapons and surveillance
In February 2025, Google eliminated its 2018 pledge not to develop AI for harmful purposes including weaponry and surveillance. The original pledge came after employee protests over Project Maven, a US Defense Department initiative using AI to analyze drone footage. The company now pursues military contracts including a $200M DoD CDAO contract.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Safety | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.745 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.66)× agency (reactive ×0.75)
Evidence (2 signals)
Removed pledge not to develop AI for weapons and surveillance
In February 2025, Google eliminated its 2018 pledge not to develop AI for harmful purposes including weaponry and surveillance. The original pledge came after employee protests over Project Maven, a US Defense Department initiative using AI to analyze drone footage. The company now pursues military contracts including a $200M DoD CDAO contract.
Kent Walker published blog post emphasizing national security justification for AI policy shift
Google's President of Global Affairs Kent Walker authored a blog post on January 29, 2025 titled 'AI and the future of national security' that preceded the policy shift removing weapons and surveillance pledges. The post emphasized national security concerns and the need for U.S. AI leadership against China, setting the stage for the February 2025 policy reversal.