ManufacturingIn 2018, Clarifai made headlines for reasons it likely didn’t intend. The New York-based AI company, known for its work in computer vision, became a flashpoint in the debate over military AI ethics when it was revealed to be working with the Pentagon on Project Maven, a controversial program aimed at analyzing drone imagery with machine learning.
The company defended its role in the project as a way to reduce civilian casualties through greater targeting accuracy. But internal dissent followed. Several employees raised ethical concerns. Some resigned. Others accused the company of downplaying the project’s military nature and failing to report a security breach in a timely manner. Former director of marketing Liz O’Sullivan publicly criticized the company and eventually quit, stating she could not support its willingness to contribute to autonomous weapons systems.
Clarifai founder and CEO Matt Zeiler told employees at the time that internal ethics officers were unsuitable for a startup and that AI would eventually be used to build more accurate, autonomous weapons. The fallout left Clarifai with a reputation for prioritizing growth and opportunity over ethics: an image that proved hard to shake.
