6 hours ago
- Alex left Google DeepMind after ethical commitments were overridden by profit and pressure, particularly regarding DHS and Pentagon contracts.
- Google’s AI ethics pledges were weakened, with no binding restrictions against killer robots or mass surveillance in the final contract.
- Efforts to mobilize influential figures like Stuart Russell, Yoshua Bengio, and Jeff Dean largely failed, despite initial promises of action.
- Anthropic stood firm on its ethics red lines against the Pentagon, contrasting with Google’s capitulation.
- A 25-page governance framework with oversight mechanisms was proposed but ignored by senior leadership.
- The post highlights broader failures in trusting ethics-motivated individuals and institutions to hold the line under government pressure.
- Pledge-signers like Jeff Dean and Demis Hassabis remained at Google despite clear violations of their commitments.
- The lack of monitoring in military AI deployments poses serious existential risks from rogue AI systems.