Hundreds of Google DeepMind employees trying to obstruct technology deals with Israel, report suggests
April 27, 2025 14:40Staff at Google DeepMind are attempting to unionise in response to the company’s reported involvement in selling artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to groups with connections to the Israeli government, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
Around 300 London-based employees of DeepMind, the AI division co-founded by CEO Sir Demis Hassabis and headquartered in King’s Cross, are seeking to join the Communications Workers Union (CWU), according to sources close to the story, as reported by the FT.
This unionisation effort follows media reports suggesting that Google is providing its cloud services and AI technologies to the Israeli Ministry of Defence.
The Israeli government has a $1.2bn cloud computing deal with Google and Amazon through Project Nimbus that has prompted protests elsewhere at Google.
The FT cited three DeepMind employees involved in the unionisation effort, who said that reports of Google’s involvement with Israel had caused "disquiet" among staff.
The workers are reportedly also unhappy about Google’s decision to remove a pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance.
DeepMind has been under pressure from Google to find commercial applications for its AI, with Hassabis suggesting that companies in democratic countries should work together to support security.
The FT referenced media reports claiming the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have used AI to generate targets for attacks in Gaza. It remains unclear whether Israeli forces are using commercially purchased technology or developing their own software for this purpose.
One anonymous engineer involved in the unionisation effort told the FT: “We’re putting two and two together and think the technology we’re developing is being used in the conflict.
“This is basically cutting-edge AI that we’re providing to an ongoing conflict. People don’t want their work used like this... people feel duped.”
According to reports, five DeepMind staff members have recently quit, citing concerns over the Israel cloud deal and Google's updated AI policies.
The unionisation efforts come after Google made the decision in February this year to reverse its 2018 pledge to avoid developing AI technologies that could cause widespread harm, including those used for weapons and military or surveillance purposes.
Last May, nearly 200 DeepMind employees signed a letter urging the company to sever its contracts with military organisations, citing concerns that this would violate Google’s AI guidelines.
The letter, dated May 16, 2024, and seen by Time magazine, stated: “Any involvement with military and weapon manufacturing impacts our position as leaders in ethical and responsible AI, and goes against our mission statement and stated AI principles.”
The workers involved in the letter held meetings with management, but their requests were reportedly denied.
Google's updated AI principles now state the company will employ rigorous testing and monitoring to mitigate “unintended or harmful outcomes.”
Google Cloud sells services, including AI technologies developed at DeepMind, to governments and militaries, including Israel and the United States.
A spokesperson for Google told the FT: “Our approach is and has always been to develop and deploy AI responsibly. We encourage constructive and open dialogue with all of our employees. In the UK and around the world, Googlers have long been part of employee representative groups, works councils and unions.”
The JC approached Google DeepMind and CWU for comment.