Tech giant says in updated ethics policy that it will use AI in line with ‘international law and human rights’.

Google has dropped a pledge not to use artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance in its updated ethics policy on the powerful technology.

In its previous version of “AI Principles”, the California-based internet giant included a commitment not to pursue AI technologies that “cause or are likely to cause overall harm”, including weapons and surveillance that violates “internationally accepted norms”.

Google’s revised policy announced on Tuesday states that the company pursues AI “responsibly” and in line with “widely accepted principles of international law and human rights”, but does not include the previous language about weapons or surveillance.

“We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights,” Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis and research labs senior vice president James Manyika said in a blog post announcing the updated policy.

“And we believe that companies, governments, and organizations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security.”

Google did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Google first published its list of AI principles in 2018 after employees protested against the firm’s participation in the United States Department of Defense’s Project Maven, which examined the use of AI to help the military identify targets for drone strikes.

Google opted not to renew its contract with the Pentagon following the backlash, which saw a number of staff members resign and thousands of others sign a petition decrying the company’s involvement in the project.

The tech giant announced later that year that it would no longer compete for a $10bn cloud computing contract with the Pentagon because it “couldn’t be assured” that it would align with its AI principles.

Google’s updated ethics policy comes after the chief executive of parent company Alphabet Inc, Sundar Pichai, joined tech leaders, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, in attending the January 20 inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

Hours after taking office, Trump rescinded an executive order by former US President Joe Biden that established certain guardrails for the rapidly developing technology.

Biden’s order required companies developing AI to share the results of safety tests with the government before releasing new technologies to the public.