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updated with the full text of Google statement below.
Google has abandoned the race for JEDI, the massive cloud computing contract of the Department of Defense, worth a potential $ 10 billion. In a statement to Bloomberg, Google announced its decision not to participate in the bidding process, which ends this week because the contract might not match the company's principles regarding 39, use of artificial intelligence.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Google spokesman said: "We are not bidding for the JEDI contract because, first, we could not be assured that this would be in keeping with our principles in artificial intelligence. And second, we determined that some parts of the contract were out of reach with the certifications of our current government, "added that Google was still working" to support the US government with our cloud in many ways. "
Officially called the Joint Enterprise Infrastructure, bids for the contract for this initiative began two months ago and are ending this week. JEDI's main competitor is generally considered to be Amazon because it has configured the CIA's private cloud, but Oracle, Microsoft and IBM should also be active.
The winner of the contract, which could last up to 10 years, should be announced by the end of the year. The project aims to accelerate the Department of Defense's adoption of cloud computing and its services. Only one provider will be chosen, a controversial decision that the Pentagon has defended by informing Congress that the pace of processing task orders in a multi-award contract "could prevent the DOD from quickly providing new capabilities and increased efficiency to the warrior from this enterprise level cloud. the computer can allow. "
Google also discussed the controversy surrounding a single provider and told Bloomberg that "if the JEDI contract had been open to multiple vendors, we would have presented a compelling solution for some parties. Google Cloud believes that a multi-cloud approach is in the interest of government agencies because it allows them to choose the right cloud for the right workload. "
Google's announcement of its intention not to bid for JEDI came four months after it decided not to renew its contract with the Pentagon for Project Maven, which involved working with the military to analyze images of drones, including images taken in areas of conflict. Thousands of Google employees have signed a petition against his work on the Maven project, claiming that it meant that the company was directly involved in the war. Subsequently, Google introduced its "artificial intelligence principles," a set of instructions for using its artificial intelligence technology.
However, it should be noted that Google is still under fire from employees because it would create a search engine for China, which will respect the laws on censorship of the government, eight years after its exit from the country, for reasons including limitation of the freedom of expression.
Update: A Google spokesperson sent TechCrunch the full statement of the JEDI contract:
"While we were working to help the US government use our cloud in many areas, we are not bidding for the JEDI contract because, first, we could not be assured that it would be consistent with our AI principles and , second, we had determined parts of the contract that were out of reach with our current government certifications. If the JEDI contract had been open to several suppliers, we would have presented a convincing solution for some parties. Google Cloud believes that a multi-cloud approach is in the interest of government agencies because it allows them to choose the right cloud for the right workload. As new technologies become more available, customers should be able to take advantage of this innovation. We will continue our strategic work to help state, local and federal clients modernize their infrastructure and meet their essential requirements. "
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