Google is facing backlash from some staff over its deployment of AI technology for military use. The BBC spoke to several tech workers who have recently resigned, or are leaving, Google DeepMind over the company's military contracts.
One of them is Sofia Liguori, a London-based research engineer who resigned this week, speaking despite a contract that restricts her from doing so. "Realising my company is pushing more and more for AI systems in military operations makes me feel ashamed to work at Google," she said, speaking in a personal capacity. After three years at the company, she said she decided to leave over Google's growing work with the US and Israeli militaries. "I don't agree with this direction and this has led me to lose faith in my company being true to its stated ethical values."
A Google spokesperson said the company works with public sector organisations worldwide and follows a consistent process for reviewing contracts, including compliance with its acceptable use policies and AI principles. It said employees have dedicated channels to raise concerns and strict policies against retaliation.
The Pentagon contracts
Google is one of several tech companies that this year signed contracts with the US military to deploy AI across classified environments. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has made AI integration a priority, saying the US will become an "AI-first warfighting force".
The Google agreement allows its models to be used for "any lawful government purpose", but states they should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons, including target selection, without appropriate human oversight. Staff doubt that oversight is sufficient at critical moments. Andreas Kirsch, an AI researcher who left DeepMind earlier this month, believes Google's governance is not meaningful enough for safe military use, and that the company has little right to veto how the Pentagon uses its AI.
The Project Maven precedent
The case recalls 2018, when several Google employees resigned in protest over the company's involvement in Project Maven. Staff leverage over the company's decisions has since waned, according to Fortune. In 2024 Google was already criticised over Project Nimbus, a $1.2bn contract with Amazon providing AI and cloud infrastructure to the Israeli government and military.
Current and former staff describe a climate of fear. As Shoker, formerly head of OpenAI's geopolitics team, warns, when hundreds of targets are selected by AI in a short time, it is almost impossible for a human operator to meaningfully review the outputs for errors.
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