Nearly 200 Google DeepMind employees sign May 16 letter calling for the company to end military contracts
It has been reported that around 200 employees of Google DeepMind, the company's AI research division, have signed a letter calling for the company to be terminated from its contract to sell AI and other services to the government and military.
Exclusive: Google DeepMind Staff Push to End Military Contracts | TIME
Google DeepMind staff call for end to military contracts - The Verge
Google DeepMind staff are against military contracts for AI use
https://www.androidheadlines.com/2024/08/google-deepmind-staff-are-against-military-contracts-for-ai-use.html
Google DeepMind has previouslystated that it will 'never be involved in military technology,' but Google is developing a cloud service called ' Project Nimbas ' that includes Google DeepMind's AI technology.
Project Nimbas is available to governments and military organizations around the world, and Google's contract partners include the Israeli military, which is currently engaged in fierce fighting with the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. There are also reports that the AI is being used for mass surveillance and target selection in bombing operations in the Gaza Strip.
In response to this situation, Google employees have protested against their work being used for military purposes, and in April 2024, Google employees opposed to Project Nimbus were arrested as a result of a sit-in protest.
Google employee arrested for protesting cooperation with Israel - GIGAZINE
About 200 Google DeepMind employees signed a letter dated May 16, 2024, expressing concerns that the company's AI technology is being used in warfare and calling for the company to terminate its contracts with military organizations. The letter states, 'We emphasize that this is not about the geopolitical situation of any particular conflict,' and argues that 'involvement in the military and weapons manufacturing impacts our position as a leader in ethical and responsible AI and is contrary to our mission statement, the AI Principles .' Google's AI Principles state that the company will not develop AI applications that could cause 'systemic harm,' contribute to weapons or other technologies, or build technologies whose 'purposes violate broadly accepted principles of international law and human rights.''
The letter calls on Google DeepMind management to investigate allegations that military organizations and weapons manufacturers are users of Google Cloud, and asks them to ban these organizations and companies from accessing Google DeepMind's technology, as well as to establish a new governance body to prevent Google DeepMind's technology from being used by military organizations in the future.
However, as of August 2024, three months after the letter was submitted, no response from Google has been made. 'We have not received a clear response so far, and we are becoming increasingly dissatisfied,' the person involved criticized.
'We trust that Google's AI principles will be upheld and that DeepMind's management shares our concerns,' Google DeepMind employees said.
However, a Google spokesperson countered, 'When developing AI technology and providing it to customers, Google adheres to our commitment to developing technology responsibly and our AI principles. Project Nimbus is a contract for Israeli government ministries and agencies to run workloads on our commercial cloud, and does not cover highly sensitive or military workloads related to weapons or intelligence services. The Israeli government has agreed to our terms of service and terms of use .'
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