The idea triggered a full-scale revolt on the Google campus.
Engineers and other Google employees argued that the company should have nothing to do with Project Maven, even if it was designed to help the military discern between civilians and militants.
The uproar forced the company to back out, but Project Maven didn’t die — it just moved to other contractors.
Now, it has grown into an ambitious experiment being tested on the front lines in Ukraine, forming a key component of the U.S. military’s effort to funnel timely information to the soldiers fighting Russian invaders.
So far the results are mixed: Generals and commanders have a new way to put a full picture of Russia’s movements and communications into one big, user-friendly picture, employing algorithms to predict where troops are moving and where attacks might happen.
Persons:
Maven
Organizations:
Google, Engineers
Locations:
Ukraine