Google has quietly left its long -term promise not to use artificial intelligence for weapons, and explains that ‘free countries’ should be able to use the technology for national security purposes.
The policy shift came to the fore when two senior figures, James Fultushika (senior vice-president of Google-Alphabet) and SIR Demis Hassabis (Chief Executive of Google DeepMind), co-author of a blog post confirming the dedication of the technology giant to “national to support safety “in an always tense geopolitical race for AI leadership.
The new attitude marks a reversal of Google’s 2018 insurance that it would never use AI tools “whose main goal or implementation is to cause or immediately facilitate people”. That vow was assumed after the staff ended in protest against a Pentagon Drone project. After the last announcement, critics claim that Google runs the risk of undermining its values, and notes that the company also removed its “Don’t Be Evil” Motto from his code of conduct when it was restructured in 2015 under the parent entity Alphabet.
Manyika and Hassabis justified the change by emphasizing the accelerating pace of AI innovation and pointing out the threat of the growing military interest of China in technology. Beijing has reserved AI as the future “revolution in military affairs” and is reportedly uses the technology to develop advanced autonomous weapon systems. Deepseek, a Chinese-developed AI-Chatbot, has already achieved results that in some tests surpass Western competitors, so that concern about a “Sputnik moment” is fueled in the sector.
Since the start of generative AI, Google has confronted with internal struggle for its links to the defense sector. In 2018, the staff submitted a petition to withdraw from an American military drone initiative. There has also been friction about partnerships with foreign governments, especially in Israel. Adding the debate, Geoffrey Hinton – called the “Godfather of AI” – stopped Google in 2023 and warned that one day the technology could threaten humanity itself.
While critics regret the apparent climb of Google, managers claim that democracies should lead in the development of AI. They claim that cooperation between companies, governments and organizations that “share these values” will help ensure that AI is used responsible – including national defense.