Google has announced significant changes to its guiding principles on AI development and use, including the omission of language that previously barred its AI systems from being used as weapons and to “cause overall harm.” This comes a month after reports stating that Google Cloud employees had directly worked with IDF officials to ease access to its AI tools amid Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza strip in 2023. Under the updated AI principles, the big tech company states that it will implement “appropriate human oversight, due diligence, and feedback mechanisms to align with user goals, social responsibility, and widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.” Story continues below this ad Google also now says it will work to “mitigate unintended or harmful outcomes and avoid unfair bias” in its AI development and deployment lifecycle, while also “promoting privacy and security, and respecting intellectual property rights.” The changes were unveiled in a blog post published on Tuesday, February 4, by James Manyika, Google’s senior vice president for research, labs, technology and society, and …