Technology
DeepMind employees sign letter of protest against Google defense contracts
At least 200 employees Deep MindGoogle’s AI R&D department is unhappy with reported defense contracts — and based on Time magazine distributed An internal letter confirming this information was sent in May.
In a letter dated May 16, the undersigned write that they’re concerned about “Google’s agreements with military organizations,” citing articles in regards to the tech giant’s deals to supply artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military.
“Any involvement in military and weapons production impacts our leadership in ethical and responsible AI and is contrary to our mission and established AI principles,” the letter added.
Although a comparatively small portion of the organization’s overall staff, the memo highlights a culture conflict between Google and DeepMind, which Google acquired in 2014 and whose technology division Google declared in 2018 won’t ever be used for military or intelligence purposes.