Small Wars Journal

Google’s Anti-Pentagon Decision Will Kill More People

Mon, 07/30/2018 - 12:09am

Google’s Anti-Pentagon Decision Will Kill More People by Andy Kessler – Wall Street Journal

Earlier this year more than 3,000 Google employees signed a letter to chief executive Sundar Pichai demanding the company halt work on the Defense Department’s Project Maven, which applies algorithms to warfare. The disgruntled employees also wanted their boss to pledge “that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology.” In June the company announced it would not renew its Project Maven contract. This is incredibly shortsighted and will increase the likelihood of war and civilian deaths.

Past warfare was described primarily by tonnage and throw weights, because precision was almost nonexistent. But ever since humans started dropping bombs out of airplanes, they’ve been aiming for more precision…

Still, it’s naive to think war is obsolete—bad actors will always be around. But technology will soon surgically zap bad guys. Project Maven gets us closer. Which is why Google engineers’ refusal to develop precision technology means more civilians will die or the military will be reluctant to use force. That’s wrong. They should Google Si vis pacem, para bellum.

Read on.