Pichai secretly met Pentagon leaders over AI project: Report

Google’s India-born chief executive Sundar Pichai quietly paid a visit to the Pentagon to ease tensions that erupted after employee outrage prompted the tech giant to sever a controversial defence contract to analyse drone video, according to a media report.

Pichai met with a group of civilian and military leaders mostly from the office of the Under Secretary of Defence for Intelligence, the Defense Department directorate that oversees the artificialintelligence drone system known as Project Maven, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the meeting, The Washington Post reported.

Google had worked with the Defense Department to develop Project Maven, which uses AI to automatically tag cars, buildings and other objects in videos recorded by drones flying over conflict zones. But in June, the tech giant said it would not renew its contract following an uprising from employees, who criticised the work as helping the military track and kill with greater efficiency, the report said.

A Defense Department spokesperson said, “We do not comment on the details of private meetings. Department leaders routinely meet with industry partners to discuss innovative technologies. These meetings support continuing dialogue aimed at solving future technology challenges.” A spokeswoman for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.