By April Lanux

Google's parent company has lifted a ban on artificial intelligence (AI) being used for developing weapons and surveillance tools after changing its long-standing principles.

Alphabet has rewritten its guidelines on how it will use AI, dropping a section which previously ruled out applications that were "likely to cause harm".

In a blog post Google defended the change, arguing that businesses and democratic governments needed to work together on AI that "supports national security".

It said: "We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality and respect for human rights.

"And we believe that companies, governments and organisations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth and supports national security," it added.

There is debate among AI experts and professionals over how the powerful new technology should be governed in broad terms, how far commercial gains should be allowed to determine its direction, and how best to guard against risks for humanity in general.

There is also controversy around the use of AI on the battlefield and in surveillance technologies.

The blog - written by senior vice president James Manyika and Demis Hassabis, who leads the AI lab Google DeepMind - said the company's original AI principles published in 2018 needed to be updated as the technology had evolved.

"Billions of people are using AI in their everyday lives. AI has become a general-purpose technology, and a platform which countless organisations and individuals use to build applications.

"It has moved from a niche research topic in the lab to a technology that is becoming as pervasive as mobile phones and the internet itself," the blog post said.

As a result baseline AI principles were also being developed, which could guide common strategies, it said.

'Don't be evil'

Originally, long before the current surge of interest in the ethics of AI, Google's founders, Sergei Brin and Larry Page, said their motto for the firm was "don't be evil".

When the company was restructured under the name Alphabet Inc in 2015 the parent company switched to "Do the right thing".

Since then Google staff have sometimes pushed back against the approach taken by their executives.

In 2018, the firm did not renew a contract for AI work with the US Pentagon following a resignations and a petition signed by thousands of employees.

They feared "Project Maven" was the first step towards using artificial intelligence for lethal purposes.

The blog was published just ahead of Alphabet's end of year financial report, showing results that were weaker than market expectations, and knocking back its share price.

That was despite a 10% rise in revenue from digital advertising, its biggest earner, boosted by US election spending.

In its earnings report the company said it would spend $75bn ($60bn) on AI projects this year, 29% more than Wall Street analysts had expected.

The company is investing in the infrastructure to run AI, AI research, and applications such as AI-powered search.

By Richard Thompson

A humanoid robot gyrates to pulsing music at a shopping mall in Beijing, part of an exhibition harnessing artificial intelligence to enhance the flavour of China’s biggest annual festival.

The country is celebrating the eight-day Lunar New Year holiday that typically sees people return home to eat, drink and make merry with family and friends.

From dragon dances to incense offerings, the festival is also a time to nurture centuries-old traditions — though in this corner of the capital, they come with a high-tech twist.

Billed as an “AI temple fair”, the event in Beijing’s well-heeled Haidian district is a chance for local technology firms to display their products to the public.

“(Robots) can already do a lot of things, like take things off the shelves and make coffee,” said Sophia Wu as she strolled among silicon shop assistants and binary baristas.

“I’d love to have a robot, and then it could do all my chores for me, and that would free up a lot of my time,” the 48-year-old housewife and retired engineer told AFP.

A troupe of robots manufactured by Hangzhou-based tech firm Unitree made global headlines this week after they performed a synchronised dance on China’s Spring Festival TV gala.

The singular dancer in the mall, however, put on a more modest show, staying rooted on the ground while jerkily swaying its hips and arms.

Described as a “high-quality human imitation robot” called Xiao Xin, it was capable of communicating with people and making tiny adjustments to the expressions on its lifelike prosthetic face, a display placard said.

Nearby, a visitor tentatively asked a life-size humanoid dressed as China’s traditional wealth god what it had eaten for breakfast.

“This morning, I enjoyed a hearty breakfast that included fresh fruit, delicious fried eggs, and sweet bread,” the robot replied in a resounding baritone, shaking its wispy beard and glittering crimson robe.

“I hope that in the new year, you can also eat healthily and deliciously, and be happy every day.”

– ‘Charm of robots’ –

Elsewhere, a motley band of automated musicians cranked out holiday songs on analogue instruments, and finely tuned robotic arms wielded ink brushes to write calligraphy on thick red paper.

Waiting for his scroll to dry, Bai Song, 34, said the exhibition had left him with a “deep impression of the charm of robots”.

“Every era inevitably produces different things. It’s possible that AI will replace some of us, but there will also be new jobs, or new types of work,” the IT professional told AFP.

“Also, we’re a socialist country, so there’s no way that people’s lives are suddenly going to get worse, because the state will provide our safety net.”

China leads the world in some advanced technologies and aims to achieve global supremacy in AI by the end of the decade.

An AI chatbot developed by Chinese start-up DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the industry this week with its R1 programme that can match American competitors seemingly at a fraction of the cost.

Still, not everything at the AI temple fair seemed quite so disruptive just yet.

A robotic koi carp repeatedly swam into the wall of its water-filled enclosure, and two semi-automated football teams plodded around an indoor pitch, colliding with each other and scuffing their kicks.

On the touchline, Cheng Cheng, a software development engineer at manufacturer Booster Robotics, said the company was working on “research-oriented applications” like refining foot and hand movements and interactions with AI.

Despite the scrappy game — won 5-2 by a pair of robots in pink jerseys — the 36-year-old was upbeat about the firm’s future prospects.

“This is a starting point for us to make our robots more robust and fall-resistant… (and to) enhance their strength,” he told AFP.