Big Think Google’s secret “Project Maven”: Evil—or moral? | Anna Butrico
Nov 17, 2025
Anna Butrico, Chief of Staff at Odgers Berndtson and co-author of Risk: A User's Guide, dives into the contentious history of Google's Project Maven. She challenges the morality of tech companies collaborating with the military in an AI arms race. Butrico traces Google's 'Don't Be Evil' slogan and highlights employee protests when they discovered the partnership's implications. She explores the cultural clash between innovation and ethics, questioning how we define 'evil' in today's complex technological landscape.
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AI Is A Strategic Race
- The U.S. is in an AI arms race where timely technological leadership matters.
- Anna Butrico warns narrative and timing shape who gains advantage in AI-enabled national security.
Don't Be Evil Became Harder To Define
- Google's original 'Don't be evil' value emerged to reject sneaky advertising and exploitation of users.
- But 'evil' became harder to define as concerns shifted to how Google used its technologies in national security contexts.
Google Employees Rebelled Over Project Maven
- Google quietly partnered with the Department of Defense on Project Maven to apply deep learning to track vehicles and people.
- Employees discovered the work, protested with petitions and letters, and some resigned when leadership didn't immediately change course.
