Google removes AI weapons ban from its ethical principles, sparking debate over Silicon Valley's approach to AI safety and raising concerns about responsible technology development in the military and surveillance sectors.

Google updated its artificial intelligence principles on Tuesday to remove commitments around not using the technology in ways “that cause or are likely to cause overall harm.” A scrubbed section of the revised AI ethics guidelines previously committed Google to not designing or deploying AI for use in surveillance,

Google has quietly deleted its pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance, a promise that had been in place since 2018. First spotted by Bloomberg, Google has updated its AI Principles to remove an entire section on artificial intelligence applications it pledged not to pursue.