Why I Left Google DeepMind

LessWrong has published a first-person account from a researcher explaining why he resigned from Google DeepMind. He writes that after Department of Homeland Security agents killed at least two people in January, he learned Google sells cloud services to DHS agencies and set out to push the company to cut those ties. His effort broadened into a campaign to stop Google from signing a military AI deal, and to hold the lab to its existing commitment against supporting autonomous weapons. According to LessWrong, senior figures declined to intervene and Google ultimately signed a deal with no restrictions against killer robots or mass surveillance, at which point he says he could no longer stay in good conscience.

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