Dozen employees (so far) at Google quit in protest as company continues with "Project Maven" military project.

[suicidalfranco]

4 hours ago, Deus Voltage said:

I hope you are being sarcastic.

why would i be sarcastic?

Such technology would save the lives of soldiers. 

I'd be honoured to be part of such achievement 

[MoonSpot]

23 hours ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

Like all companies, these employees will be replaced and the program, as long as it is funded, will keep moving forward. There are smart people that will be willing to join this cause and as long as the military is willing to pay big money, there will be a company that will work on this project whether it is Google or some other. 

True.  Does not mean that people shouldn't try;  There is a lot of truth in sayings akin to "the destination does not matter, only the journey".  Consider Albert Einsteins petitions/protests against war and militarization of scientists during the events of and leading up to WWI.  Though the majority of his peers would not sign or even agreed with his anti-war push(much like google always being able to find someone else), that doesn't mean that his efforts were in vain; even though its easily seen as a failure by the lack of support he managed to get at the time.  Who knows, might have made a lot of them take pause and consider, and may have ultimately changed the course of a couple other peoples lives.  We've no idea who, what and how others may be influenced by such efforts, discussions and choices; which is why its always important to make the effort(s).

 

If individual people can't fix the world, can only manage fix themselves and maybe influence others, then the journey is everything.  I applaud those employees for taking a stand and making a hard choice.  Little reason they should help enable things, or a world, they are vehemently opposed to.  And though I ultimately agree with your conclusion, I dislike the defeatist surrender to the inevitable off the hop.  There is a massive spectrum in between the binaryly presented destinations of 'Military will get its new gun' and 'Military won't get its new gun'.

[cj09beira]

i firmly believe we as people need to get a lot more mature and fast because with the tech is advancing way too fast, and there is a good chance it will be the end of us all.

right now its hard to even have real conversations

[TVwazhere]

15 hours ago, Tellos said:

@M.Yurizaki cept the US military has stated they want drones with the ability to decide to strike on their own without human help.

"Do you want Captain America: The Winter Solider? Becasue thats how you get Captain America: The Winter Solider"

[MoonSpot]

49 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

"Do you want Captain America: The Winter Solider? Becasue thats how you get Captain America: The Winter Solider"

 

Marvel is a bit of a stretch for me personally, but I am getting the desire to watch 'Enemy of the State' again, or maybe 'The Game'.

[Eaglerino]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

"Do you want Captain America: The Winter Solider? Becasue thats how you get Captain America: The Winter Solider"

 

This is also a comic book

[Dissitesuxba11s]

4 hours ago, MoonSpot said:

Wonderfully written reply.

I totally agree with you and I apologize that I came off as defeatist. I was giving a bit of insight in the dealings in the defense sector from the perspective of someone who's worked with the DOD (i.e. me). Once someone high enough in the chain of command gives a go ahead on a project and it gets signed off, it will happen. Doesn't matter what the employees of the contractor (Google) say, the contractor has already signed the deal and they will lose a significant amount of money if they drop out. As long as the government is willing to use our tax payers' money on this, there is a money hungry company that will take the contract who simply thinks that this is an end product that will provide them with a profit with disregard on who it will be impacting.

 

Simple refusal for action against the bad will only hinder their plan. Take what Galen Erso has done when he built the Death Star, his refusal to work simply postponed the inevitable. What actually made an impact is his plans to destroy the Death Star. Further action is what is needed to stop this plan of counter-terrorism, and I believe that what is to be done is see what International laws (if any) that this goes against. Somebody smarter than me on that matter would have to see what laws are broken so I would leave that idea for now.

 

On your point of Einstein's petition/protest against the war. Do note that he wrote to then President Franklin Roosevelt urging him to build the atomic bomb. He would soon regret this decision but only stand with his choice because it was for the greater good. And I know for a fact that there are millions of people that will say that Project Maven is for the greater good. 

[Tech Enthusiast]

Honestly id rather have Google AI decide if a drone starts shooting, than the US guys.

 

Let's be real here, there a dozes of videos showing US rockets launched at kids, just because a trigger happy guy thought he wanted to test his new toys.

You can always claim "hey, in the heat of battle i had to decide quickly and i went for making sure!"

 

AI at least follows orders. And if it screws up you fix the issue and the issue stops.

Not so much luck with humans.

 

Also, everything that can be done, will be done. No matter if the public approves or not. So whatever we argue here (and anywhere else for that matter) is pointless anyways. ;-)

[Drak3]

4 hours ago, Rattenmann said:

Honestly id rather have Google AI decide if a drone starts shooting, than the US guys.

 

Let's be real here, there a dozes of videos showing US rockets launched at kids, just because a trigger happy guy thought he wanted to test his new toys.

You can always claim "hey, in the heat of battle i had to decide quickly and i went for making sure!"

I'd trust a grunt of the US Military before any AI. Too many lawyers chomping at the bit to ruin the lives of those doing their jobs, regardless of circumstance, just for money and notoriety.

 

That trigger happy asswipe getting to kill indiscriminately just because 'hey war,' is a fairy tale.

[Space Reptile]

military contracts are nothing normal , im suprised google wasnt already doing em 
also 12 people? what a major loss to a megacompany like google 

is google hiring btw? 

[kuddlesworth9419]

On 5/17/2018 at 9:42 PM, Teddy07 said:

I don´t get all the outrage. I want to work for a weapons manufacturer one day because they have so many secret and interesting projects.

 

Why do you want to program a toaster when you can help program a drone?

I get what you mean and I agree with it somewhat but for many people knowing what you are building will kill innocent people makes you somewhat responsible. I would like to get involved in firearms design but I don't think I ever could on this basis. Knowing your weapon will inevitably kill an innocent person would effect a person emotionally. 

 

Also another point, who is to blame when a civilian is killed or wounded by an AI? AN AI isn't a person so can't be prosecuted so are deaths just swept under the rug so to speak, they are anyway but that's not my point. It's much easier to sweep civilian deaths under the rug when you can't convict anyone of a crime. It's the same with this self driving car stuff, if a self driving car kills someone accidentally then who is to blame?

[Bcat00]

Sometimes i feel like the US is becoming more and more like the brewing pot of pure evil while trying to do something good.

[Jito463]

While I'd never be comfortable with allowing AI the decision to strike on its own, I'm fine with using AI to identify targets easier.  I don't see any issue with this Project Maven as it stands currently.

 

On 5/18/2018 at 6:34 PM, Rattenmann said:

Let's be real here, there a dozes of videos showing US rockets launched at kids, just because a trigger happy guy thought he wanted to test his new toys.

"Let's be real"?  That's complete and utter malarkey!  Stop making up crap just to push your anti-US viewpoint.  US soldiers don't go around firing rockets at anyone (much less kids), just to "test...new toys".  I can't believe your post has been allowed to remain this long.