Nearly 200 employees of Google DeepMind, the company's artificial intelligence research division, have signed a letter urging the company to end its contracts with military organizations.
The letter of May 16, revealed by TIMEhighlights growing concerns within the organisation about the ethical implications of its AI technology being used for digital warfare.
The signatories represent around 5% of DeepMind's workforce and cite the company's contracts to provide artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to several governments, including the Israeli military under Project Nimbus.
Google workers are concerned about the use of their artificial intelligence in war
The workers argue that such participation violates Google’s own AI Principles, which state that the company will not pursue AI applications that cause “general harm” or contribute to weaponization and surveillance.
While the letter refrains from mentioning any specific geopolitical conflict, it does include links to reports claiming that Israeli military operations are using artificial intelligence for surveillance and targeting.
Although DeepMind has historically maintained a policy against using its technology for military purposes, the business has become increasingly tied to Google's broader operations since its acquisition in 2014, leading to closer ties to military contracts.
Despite the letter's demands, including a review of DeepMind technology used by military customers and the establishment of a new governance body, Google has not taken any decisive action. TechRadar Pro has asked the company to comment on the internal staff letter, but we did not immediately receive a response.
One of the signatories of the letter expressed dissatisfaction with Google's response to the complaint. TIMEstating that the company's statement about Project Nimbus “is so specifically nonspecific that none of us know what it really means.”
