Google DeepMind UK staff to challenge defence deals and Israel links: FT report

Employees of Google DeepMind, the AI arm of the search giant led by British Nobel laureate Sir Demis Hassabis, in the UK are seeking to unionise to challenge the company’s decision to sell its artificial intelligence technologies to defence groups and ties to the Israeli government, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.Around 300 DeepMind employees in London have sought to join the Communication Workers Union in recent weeks, three people briefed on the move told FT.

This puts fresh pressure on DeepMind which is being pushed by Google to find commercial uses for its powerful AI, with Hassabis suggesting recently that companies in democratic countries should work together to support national security.

The push to unionise by DeepMind employees follows Google’s February decision to withdraw its 2018 pledge to avoid developing AI that could cause widespread harm, including in military and surveillance applications.

Internal unrest was exacerbated by media reports alleging that Google is selling cloud services and AI tools to the Israeli Ministry of Defence as part of Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud deal between Israel, Google, and Amazon, sources involved in the unionisation effort told the FT.

Tensions have further escalated due to claims that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have used AI systems to generate targets in the Gaza conflict, though it remains unclear whether those systems involve Google’s technologies, the FT report said.

One DeepMind engineer told FT anonymously that employees fear their cutting-edge AI work is being used in the conflict. The report said that five DeepMind staff have resigned in recent months in protest over Google’s military involvement and its backtracking on prior ethical commitments.