[pmoriarty]

Just because Google or the military say the tech won't be used to target and kill people doesn't mean it's true.

The letter that I read[1] states:

"Recently, Googlers voiced concerns about Maven internally. Diane Greene responded, assuring them that the technology will not “operate or fly drones” and “will not be used to launch weapons.” While this eliminates a narrow set of direct applications, the technology is being built for the military, and once it’s delivered it could easily be used to assist in these tasks."

and:

"Building this technology to assist the US Government in military surveillance – and potentially lethal outcomes – is not acceptable."

So the concern seems to be that the military can easily repurpose Google's technology to lethal ends.

[1] - https://static01.nyt.com/files/2018/technology/googleletter....

[some_account]

It's not obvious to everyone that Google has close ties to intelligence agencies already?

I don't see why their promises mean something, and I don't see why some people never learn that there are no good corporations. They all exist to make money. Except the non profits. And there is tons of money in war, as you know.

Building tech that kills people is therefore playing dumb or not caring.