Defense, Power & Security, Technology Google Wants More Work from the Defense Department

Perry World House's Interim Director Michael Horowitz is quoted in this piece from Defense One, on Google's existing work with the Pentagon - on cybersecurity, business automation, and deepfake detection - and its bid for more defense contracts.

“It’s been frustrating,” said Google’s Kent Walker, referring to rising public perceptions that the company is opposed to doing national security work...Speaking at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence conference, Walker said that Google is “fully engaged in a wide variety of work with different agencies” within the Defense Department...“As we take on those kind of things, we are eager to do more, [and are] pursuing actively additional certifications” to provide cloud services for classified data and other services, he said.

Michael C. Horowitz, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told Defense One in a direct message, “Walker’s comments show that Google wants to turn the page after the Project Maven controversy. They signal that Google, a key leader in AI research, is willing to partner with the US national security community on applications of AI.” 

Horowitz said Walker’s statements “seem to represent an evolution of thinking at Google. They signal that more cooperation between the Defense Department and Silicon Valley on AI may soon become a reality.”

Read more in Defense One >>