Google and Pentagon reportedly agree on deal for 'any lawful' use of AI

morkalork

Will lawful use be determined in secret courts a la NSA and FISA?

ceejayoz

Who defines "lawful" if Google and the Pentagon disagree? > The classified deal apparently doesn’t allow Google to veto how the government will use its AI models. Seems concerning?

jcgrillo

It's pretty funny how these guys are all becoming some kind of internet version of, like, Halliburton. It seems pretty desperate. B2C and B2B applications didn't pan out I guess?

tombert

When my sister and I would play monopoly as kids, we had lost the manual so whenever we didn’t like the outcome of whatever happened, we would make up rules about what was right. Technically then, it was very easy stay compliant while still being able to do well because we could rewrite the rules. Also, since I was older I feel like I was able to get away with those redefinitions a lot more often…

hgoel

How well does this hold up in terms of legal scrutiny when previous actions indicate that the Pentagon would retaliate against Google if they didn't accept this "lawful use only" farce? Could Google back out of this agreement later by arguing that they were coerced? Not trying to suggest that Google would be opposed to doing evil, but curious about how solid this agreement would be in practice.

john_strinlai

there is 0 reason that the definitions of 'lawful' for the purposes of these agreements should be classified.

mullingitover

Reminder that this administration has some absolute howler theories about what constitutes lawful behavior[1]. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/us/politics/tom-homan-fbi...

shevy-java

The beginning of Skynet 6.0.

qznc

And that is news-worthy because unlawful use is normal?

ChrisArchitect

https://archive.ph/FyzNS

ChrisArchitect

One source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-signs-classified-a... ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47931336 )

Brian_K_White

What a handy word "lawful".

Imnimo

Unsurprising from Google, but still bad. If Google has no right to object to a particular use, this is equivalent in practice to "any use, lawful or not".

anygivnthursday

Is Iran already a vibe war or those are just coming?

anematode

Who could have seen this one coming. From yesterday: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-ai-pentagon-classified-u... ("Hundreds of Google workers urge CEO to refuse classified AI work with Pentagon"). Any AI researcher who continues to work here is morally compromised.

cdrnsf

Lawful is meaningless in the context of the Trump administration. Should Google waver (which they won't), they'll be declared a supply chain risk or otherwise bullied into submission.

sailfast

This all works if you assume that any action the government takes must be “lawful”. The assumption here is that the Pentagon is obeying the law and any unlawful use would go through normal reporting / violation channels - same as any illegal order or violation or whistleblower report. The Pentagon does not want Google or anyone else deciding what they can and cannot use their AI for. They’re saying we won’t break the law, and that should be enough for you - pinky swear! And that seems to be enough for Google. Though I might request some auditing capability that is agentic to verify rather than take them at their word. Next step: is Google FEDRAMP’d yet for this and for classified enclaves? Or do they also go through Palantir’s AI vehicle?

vrganj

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust Capital and Big Tech have always been opportunistic enablers, not principled actors. Corporate Values have always been nothing but internal propaganda. "Don't be evil", what a farce.

flufluflufluffy

> We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight. And starts the lying to our faces. The public and private (from your own employees!) consensus is that it should not be used for those things at all, regardless of “human oversight.”

ctoth

Huh. I never realized the T-800 runs on Android. Makes sense, I guess.