America鈥檚 top two defense officials criticized Google's work in China on Thursday, saying it was indirectly benefitting the Chinese military.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford were questioned on the role that U.S. companies played in supporting Beijing's military.
In a statement submitted to the committee prior to the hearing, Shanahan said some American companies had voiced ethical concerns about working to develop advanced technology with the Pentagon 鈥渁ll while continuing to work with China鈥�.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e talking about Google and their support to China and their lack of support for the Department of Defense,鈥� he said when asked what he meant by his statement.
Last year, Google passed on a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon, saying the company鈥檚 new ethical guidelines on artificial intelligence may not align with the project.
The tech company had previously announced it would not renew a contract to help the U.S. military analyze aerial drone imagery under a program called Project Maven.
Meanwhile, Google is still reportedly working on Project Dragonfly, a venture with the Chinese government to develop a censored search engine that would block certain sites.
鈥淭he fusion of commercial business with military is significant. Five trillion dollars of their economy is state-owned enterprises, so the technology that is 鈥榙eveloped in the civil world鈥� transfers to the military world. It鈥檚 a direct pipeline,鈥� said Shanahan.
During the hearing, Republican Senator Josh Hawley referred to Google as a 鈥渟upposedly American company鈥�.
鈥淭he work that Google is doing in China is indirectly benefiting the Chinese military,鈥� Dunford said.
鈥淲e watch with great concern when industry partners work in China knowing there is that indirect benefit,鈥� he added. 鈥淔rankly, 鈥榠ndirect鈥� may be not a full characterization of the way it really is. It鈥檚 more of a direct benefit to the Chinese military.鈥�
By Umar Farooq in Washington
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr