Description: Google’s updated ethics policy has stated that the company won’t use AI – based technology to support the development of weapons and surveillance operations. The issues appeared in 2018 when Google published a list of AI principles after the company was discovered to have participated in the US Department of Defense’s project called Maven, which used Google’s AI technology to help the military identify drone strikes targets. Google further opted out of the contract with the US Department of Defense valued at $10 billion at the time while the newest developments in policy, saw President Donald Trump rescind the previous order by the Biden administration which required companies which developed AI to share the test results with the government.
Impact: The rapid development of AI – based solutions caused severe disruptions on the global stock market as companies such as Google pursued lucrative defense contracts. Although commitments towards the seizure of AI usage for weapons and surveillance has been made, many tech business conglomerates such as Google would hardly seize to supply the defense industry with access to the latest AI – based solutions. In constant market competition, Google could opt out on providing limited access to countries and companies that delve into the defense industry in order to remain competitive but could be reprieved by enlarged regulatory requirements and conditions.