Google Drops Pledge Not to Use AI for Weapons or Surveillance

Re:Google Drops Pledge Not to Use AI for Weapons or Surveill... by abeppu on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @03:55PM (#42938510)

I guess a question becomes, how does dropping these self-imposed limitations work as a marketing exercise? Probably most of their customers or prospective customers won't care, but will a cheery multi-colored new product land a little differently? If Northrop Grumman made a smart home hub, you might be reluctant to put it in your living room.

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Re:Google Drops Pledge Not to Use AI for Weapons or Surveill... by HPMOR on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @04:03PM (#42938641)

They are dropping these pledges to avoid securities lawsuits. “Everything is securities fraud” and presumably if they have a stated corporate pledge to do something, and knowingly violate it, any drop in the stock price could use this as grounds.

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Re:Google Drops Pledge Not to Use AI for Weapons or Surveill... by a_shovel on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @04:03PM (#42938652)

Being a defense contractor isn't a problem that a little corporate rearrangement can't fix. Put the consumer division under a new subsidiary with a friendly name and you're golden. Even among the small percentage who know the link, it's likely nobody will really care. For certain markets ("tacticool" gear, consumer firearms) being a defense contractor is even a bonus.

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Re:Google Drops Pledge Not to Use AI for Weapons or Surveill... by lenerdenator on Tuesday February 04, 2025 @03:57PM (#42938537)

Marketing doesn't matter to oligarchs.

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