As whispers of AI hype filled the air in 2018, it seemed almost inevitable that we would soon be facing a whole new world, full of near-human robots and cybernetic dogs. But with that came a host of questions: how would it all change our jobs,

Google dropped a pledge not to use artificial intelligence for weapons and surveillance systems on Tuesday. And it’s just the latest sign that Big Tech is no longer concerned with the potential blowback that can come when consumer-facing tech companies get big, lucrative contracts to develop police surveillance tools and weapons of war.

Google has updated its ethical policies on artificial intelligence, eliminating a pledge to not use AI technology for weapons development and surveillance. According to a now-archived version of