In May 2024, about 200 Google DeepMind employees (about 5% of the department) signed a letter urging the company to terminate contracts with military organizations, expressing concerns that its artificial intelligence technology was used in warfare. time magazine reports.
The letter noted that employees’ concerns were not “geopolitical in any particular conflict,” but it did relate to timeReports on Google’s defense contract with the Israeli military, called “Project Nimbus.” The letter also points to reports that the Israeli military is using artificial intelligence to conduct mass surveillance and select targets during bombing campaigns in Gaza, and that the government has authorized Israeli weapons companies to purchase cloud services from Google and Amazon.
The application of artificial intelligence in warfare has spread rapidly, prompting some technicians who build related systems to speak out. But Google also made specific promises: When it acquired DeepMind in 2014, the lab’s leaders demanded that their artificial intelligence technology would never be used for military or surveillance purposes.
The letter circulated within Google DeepMind said: “Any involvement in military and weapons manufacturing affects our position as an ethical and responsible AI leader and goes against our mission statement and stated AI principles.”
as time In a letter, DeepMind employees reportedly urged leadership to investigate claims that the military and weapons manufacturers are using Google Cloud services, cut off the military’s access to DeepMind technology and establish a new governance body to prevent future use by the military of artificial intelligence customers. .
time According to the report, despite employees expressing concerns and calling for action, Google has so far “failed to respond in any meaningful way.”
