Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Google Employees Discuss Staging Protest Of Their Own Company
https://www.yahoo.com/ ^ | 6/1/18 | Rebecca Klein

Posted on 06/02/2018 3:59:34 PM PDT by BBell

A small group of Google employees, in response to a company contract with a Pentagon-backed program called Maven, have discussed the idea of staging a protest at a conference in July. Employees fear that the project, which provides artificial intelligence tools to the military, could be used in fatal drone strikes.

The protest, as discussed in preliminary exchanges over Google’s internal communications platform, would take place at a Google Cloud conference in San Francisco, according to messages obtained by HuffPost and an interview with an employee.

More than a dozen Google employees have resigned over the project, according to Gizmodo, and thousands of employees have signed a letter protesting it.

Now Google employees are debating showing resistance in a more active way, through a potential demonstration.

Discussions regarding the possibility of a protest took place this week on an internal thread devoted to criticism of Maven. The thread, called “maven conscientious objectors,” includes hundreds of employees, but only a small percentage of those were active in the discussion.

The debate about staging a physical demonstration took place on Wednesday and Thursday and was started by a departing engineer. The employee called the project “the greatest ethical crises in technology of our generation” and suggested that “Maven protesters” go to the conference with the aim of “making some noise.”

(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Society
KEYWORDS: employees; google; protest
What they just figured out that google is evil?

This is not the first time that google employees have protested their companies involvement with the defense industry.

1 posted on 06/02/2018 3:59:34 PM PDT by BBell
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: BBell

Take a kneel...


2 posted on 06/02/2018 4:04:17 PM PDT by granite (The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.Ecclesiastes 10:2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BBell
Employees fear that the project, which provides artificial intelligence tools to the military, could be used in fatal drone strikes.

The snowflakes are no doubt are very concerned about drone strikes in Waziristan, but probably all onboard for domestic spying and monitoring of US citizens by both Fed.gov and private corporations.

3 posted on 06/02/2018 4:08:18 PM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BBell

don’t worry the protest will not happen Skynet is in control of the situation and will be in control till the coming of john Connor.


4 posted on 06/02/2018 4:11:00 PM PDT by PCPOET7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BBell
Spoiled rich kids on the march! Reported by Yahoo. This could get good. :o)

Google, Facebook, et al have created a public space and should be regulated to ensure that the people's free speech rights re protected. We need to expand on Robins v. Pruneyard.

5 posted on 06/02/2018 4:12:08 PM PDT by InABunkerUnderSF (Time to BLOAT again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: InABunkerUnderSF

This is an interesting argument I hadn’t heard before, with important implications. Have Google and Facebook created a public space? Or couldn’t they argue that the space they created is private??


6 posted on 06/02/2018 4:19:06 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o (They said what's up is down, they said what isn't is, they put ideas in his head he thought were his)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: BBell

Google to drop Pentagon AI contract after employee objections to the ‘business of war’

7 posted on 06/02/2018 4:29:10 PM PDT by BlessedBeGod (To restore all things in Christ~~Appeasing evil is cowardice~~Francis is temporary. Hell is forever.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BBell
What they just figured out that google is evil?

Collaborating with the military is considered right wing, and therefore evil. Spying on users, doing behavior modification experiments, censorship, is not right wing, therefore not evil to Google employees.

8 posted on 06/02/2018 4:31:16 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mrs. Don-o
Have Google and Facebook created a public space? Or couldn’t they argue that the space they created is private??

The Pruneyard Shopping Mall argued that they had created a private space, on private land, but the counts ruled otherwise in Robins v. Pruneyard.

9 posted on 06/02/2018 4:35:21 PM PDT by InABunkerUnderSF (Time to BLOAT again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: BlessedBeGod

I don’t understand the search function here.


10 posted on 06/02/2018 5:01:21 PM PDT by BBell (calm down and eat your sandwiches)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: InABunkerUnderSF

Thank you for that reference.


11 posted on 06/02/2018 5:16:20 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o (Pity this busy monster, manunkind.....................not. - (e.e. cummings))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: InABunkerUnderSF

I spent many an evening at the Pruneyard when Bill and Dave were still with us. There was a C & W bar upstairs on a corner that actually served Genny Cream Ale.


12 posted on 06/02/2018 5:42:14 PM PDT by printhead (I need a new tagline. Happy days are here again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: BBell

Fire for a clean cause (insubordination) and replace them.


13 posted on 06/02/2018 5:51:32 PM PDT by setha (England has chosen the path of a quotarchy - rule by quotas.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BBell

But they will work on similar projects for the ChiComs ...


14 posted on 06/03/2018 4:17:53 AM PDT by elbook
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson