I think that Google is developing weapons, but in the form of spam detectors, face recognition and Geo IP technology. They might not sell them (they don’t need

I think that Google is developing weapons, but in the form of spam detectors, face recognition and Geo IP technology. They might not sell them (they don’t need to) but the open-source nature makes using those in an information war far easier. A lot of Facebook’s effort to track whether Russian agents purchased ads space, how they fostered dissent with controversial groups, etc. all that false under a new military “space” (neither ground, sea or air). Friends of mine who work in security hate the idea of calling it “cyber”, but “information” seems appropriate: cultivating journalists and influencers is key for instance. It’s a war against democratic institutions more than population, but it affect power quite directly. What Google refused to do was to attach military technology from a previous era (explosive, kinetic weapons) to their own work (face recognition) because they find that abhorrent. That’s actually not the first time: the use of wild animals, poisons, children and later radioactive material and nerve agents in war has been decried by military technologists since Archimedes — generally around the idea of a cleaner violence.