Within Google DeepMind, the British subsidiary of the US internet company specialising in artificial intelligence (AI), discontent is growing over its support for big data solutions for military conflicts. Nearly 200 DeepMind employees – about 5 percent of the workforce – recently signed a letter calling on the tech giant to end its contracts with military organisations, US magazine Time reported. The authors of the May 16 letter do not name any specific armed forces as they are not concerned with any specific conflict. However, they point to reports that Google has a direct contract to provide cloud computing and AI services to the Israeli army (IDF) and that it – along with Amazon – is part of the relevant Project Nimbus. It will be used for mass surveillance and target selection in the Gaza war.
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It added, “Any involvement in the military and weapons production compromises our position as a leader in ethical and responsible AI and violates our mission and stated AI principles.” as per the time in the letterWhich is going on within DeepMind. So the signatories are demanding that those responsible at DeepMind block military users’ access to in-house technologies. They are demanding a new monitoring body to ensure compliance with this approach.
Massive frustration within the workforce
According to those involved, three months after the letter was distributed, Google has not considered any of the appeals. “We have not received any meaningful response from management,” one employee complained to Time. “We are becoming more and more frustrated.” When Google bought DeepMind in 2014, the former lab’s heads promised the company that their AI technology would never be used for military or surveillance purposes. According to the report, a Google spokesperson has now claimed that the company adheres to its AI principles. The Nimbus contract only applies to “work done on our commercial cloud by Israeli ministries that agree to abide by our terms of service and acceptable use policies.” However, the requirements do not rule out serving military customers with Google’s AI.
The Guardian wrote in April50 Google employees who criticized cooperation with Israel’s military were fired in the first few months of 2024. According to military insiders, a true “kill cloud” consists of long-range sensors and weapons platforms for drones connected with a globally distributed network of equipment, software and many other nodes via satellite, cable, radio and digital communication links. Cloud-based solutions, including major US providers, are used for “analysis, targeted strikes and killing.”
(USC)
