Don't be evil has been the company motto since the foundation of Google (1997). The balance between the profit interests of the company and this ethical claim is undoubtedly not always easy - it is easy to imagine that this balancing act quickly becomes like squaring the circle, especially when Google and the Pentagon work together. In the opinion of many Google employees, the company has crossed the red line in the so-called Project Maven.
In the Project Maven, video streams from drones (which are naturally used in a military context) are evaluated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). In early 2018, several thousand (!) employees of Google signed a letter of protest against their company's involvement in the project. Some critics even left the company due to Googles involvement in that project. Google initially stood by its obligations as a contractual partner of the Pentagon, but tacitly let the project expire the following year.
By the way, the former CEO of Google, Dr. Eric Schmidt, has been on the Defence Innovation Board of the Pentagon since 2017.
