By Rich Smith
Publication Date: 2026-03-07 12:07:00
“Don’t be evil.” That was the motto Google adopted for itself back when it went public in 2004.
Within 14 years, this motto had evolved into “don’t work with the U.S. military” (unofficially, one imagines), when Google parent Alphabet (GOOG 0.87%) (GOOGL 0.75%) very publicly pulled out of a Pentagon contract called Project Maven that would have used its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for military purposes.
Fast-forward just a few more years, and while one hopes Google is still avoiding actual evildoing, it’s willing to compromise on the military part.
Image source: Getty Images.
Introducing Project Aalyria
For more than a decade, Google has been developing new technology to improve the interoperability of satellite and other communications systems. Utilizing what it calls Tightbeam lasers rather than radio spectrum, the technology has clear military implications — and at least one multimillion-dollar Pentagon contract.
In 2023, the Office of Naval Research and Naval…
