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Article

22 Oct 2018

Author:
Nitasha Tiku, Wired

Google CEO says tests of censored Chinese search engine turned out great and time has come to reevaluate decision to pull out from China

"Google’s CEO Says Tests of Censored Chinese Search Engine Turned Out Great", 15 Oct 2018

Google’s internal tests developing a censored search engine in China have been very promising, CEO Sundar Pichai said on stage…as part of the WIRED 25 Summit…Pichai did not back away from Google’s controversial decision to build a censored search engine in China…codenamed Project Dragonfly, saying the potential to expose the world to more information is guiding Google’s push into China. “We are compelled by our mission [to] provide information to everyone, and [China is] 20 percent of the world's population.”

Pichai was careful to emphasize that this was a decision that weighs heavy on the company. “People don't understand fully, but you're always balancing a set of values,” in every new country, he said. Those values include providing access to information, freedom of expression, and user privacy. “But we also follow the rule of law in every country,” he said. This is a reversal of a decision from about eight years, when Google pulled its search engine, which was also censored, from the Chinese market. Pichai said the time had come to reevaluate that choice…

Pichai was just as non-committal when discussing Google’s work with the Department of Defense, in particular the company’s controversial contract, nicknamed Project Maven, to build AI and facial recognition technology that could be used for drone warfare…Earlier this month, Google also announced that it would not be bidding for Joint Enterprise Defense Initiative, or JEDI… [also mentions Amazon.com]

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