Google must end its collaboration with the Israeli government in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), as a growing group of company, employees are demanding.
They are increasing the pressure on their employer to cancel the relevant contract and are planning demonstrations to reinforce that demand.
Google has a so-called cloud computing contract with Israel. With Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract, Google and Amazon provide the Israeli government with AI and cloud services. The contract, with a term of seven years, went into effect in July last year. However, a petition against the agreement has already been signed by at least 800 Google employees.
Google did not provide details about the contract. However, training materials show that the company had touted the capabilities of its image analysis tools to detect faces, facial features, and emotions. The Google systems can also track objects in videos.
The complainants speak of an opaque military contract where the question is whether the technology should be given to nationalist armies. Also because the company originally had the theory that it could make money without doing any harm.
The planned demonstrations follow the resignation, on Tuesday, of Ariel Koren, a Google employee who had openly criticized cooperation with the Israeli government. Koren said the company moved its position abroad shortly after publicly voicing its objections. As a result, she would have been de facto forced to resign.
In recent years, Google has seen a wave of activism among employees, including about the treatment of employees, sexual harassment claims, and working for governments.
Shareholders of Google parent Alphabet also raised concerns about Project Nimbus. They suggested that the company’s leadership prepare a report reconsidering the company’s role in the Israeli contract. However, this proposal was rejected by a majority of securities holders. Alphabet’s leadership had advised its shareholders to vote against the plan.
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