“We are proud to be part of a broad consortium of leading A.I. labs and technology and cloud companies providing A.I. services and infrastructure in support of national security,” a Google spokesperson told The New York Times. “We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that A.I. should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.”
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Decrypt.
“We want to see AI benefit humanity; not see it being used in inhumane or extremely harmful ways,” the letter said. Currently, the only way to guarantee that Google does not become associated with such harm is to reject any classified workloads. Otherwise, such uses may occur without our knowledge or the power to stop them.”
The letter argues that AI systems “make mistakes” and can “centralize power,” and argues Google has a responsibility to prevent “its most unethical and dangerous uses,” including “lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.”
The employees warn that making the “wrong call right now would cause irreparable damage to Google’s reputation, business, and role in the world.”
The Pentagon has accelerated efforts to secure agreements with major AI companies since January, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the technology should be integrated across the military.
The letter underscores a growing divide between the military and some AI developers over how the technology should be used in warfare.
Despite the pushback from employees, Google appears to be moving forward with its Pentagon deal as the Defense Department expands its use of artificial intelligence across classified operations.
“Very soon, we will have the world’s leading AI models on every unclassified and classified network throughout our department,” he said.
