Apple Magazine - USA - Issue 408 (2019-08-23)

(Antfer) #1

spurning the U.S. military and instead working
with the Chinese. In mid-July, he tweeted about
unsupported claims to that effect by technology
investor Peter Thiel, a Trump supporter who is
also a board member of Google rival Facebook.
In an appearance on Fox News , Thiel offered no
proof for claims that Google is working with the
Chinese government on artificial intelligence
projects and has “likely” been infiltrated by
Chinese agents.
Google left China in 2010, and confirmed this
summer in a congressional hearing that it shut
down an experimental program to relaunch
a censored version of its search service in the
country. Under pressure from its employees,
it has also withdrawn from at least one
Pentagon contract.
Google said it has not been infiltrated, and
executive Karan Bhatia denied Thiel’s claims
in a congressional hearing last month, saying
“We take extremely seriously the threat of any
penetration of our systems.”
Google does have an AI office in China, which it
positioned as a way to employ Chinese engineers
who specialize in AI research. Thiel wrote in a New
York Times opinion piece that Google’s close AI
ties in China are bad for the U.S.
Google said it still works with the Defense
Department on other projects, including
cybersecurity. And it denies working with the
Chinese military.
Others in Trump’s administration have said
Google’s work in China isn’t problematic. “I think
they’re working for our military, for America, not
for China,” Larry Kudlow, director of the National
Economic Council, said on Fox News last month.

Free download pdf