Google has quietly deleted its pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance, a promise that had been in place since 2018.

Google has gone back on a previous pledge not to use AI for weapons and surveillance, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. Policies about "applications we will not pursue" from 2018 have been deleted from the company's AI principles.

In 2018, Google laid out a list of policies regarding its AI business that included safe and neutral use of the technology in its various applications. This week, Google has seemingly rolled back key policies regarding the use of its AI technology in weapons, surveillance, and other applications that would be “likely to cause overall harm.”