Google Renounces Bid for $ 10 Billion Data Contract with Pentagon

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google, of Alphabet Inc., said on Monday that it was no longer seeking a $ 10 billion cloud computing deal with the US Department of Defense, in part because the new rules The company's ethics are not in line with the project, without further details.

Google said in a statement: "We can not be assured that [the JEDI deal] we would align with our AI principles and second, we determined that some parts of the contract were out of reach with our current government certifications. "

The principles prohibit the use of Google's Artificial Intelligence (AI) software in weapons as well as services that violate international standards for surveillance and human rights.

In March, Google was provisionally certified to process US government data with "moderate" security, but Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp have higher permissions.

Amazon has been widely viewed by the Pentagon's technology managers and technology providers as the contract leader, known as JEDI (Joint Enterprise Infrastructure Infrastructure).

Google was hoping the $ 10 billion annual contract could boost its nascent cloud computing business and catch up with Amazon and competitor Microsoft, its JEDI competitor.

The fact that the Pentagon could trust the storage of its digital data with Google would have been useful for its marketing efforts with large companies.

But this year, thousands of Google employees have protested against the use of Google technology in war situations or that may lead to human rights violations. The company responded by publishing the principles of using its artificial intelligence tools.

In his statement, Google said that he would have been able to support "parties" of the JEDI agreement if joint offers had been allowed.

The Federal News Network press conference first reported on Google's decision.