Google reportedly made sure Israel's military had access to its AI tools

Google has been a much larger facilitator of tools to Israel during its war with Hamas than previously disclosed. A new report from The Washington Post found that Google employees have repeatedly worked with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel’s Defense Ministry (IDM) to expand the government's access to AI tools. In 2021, Google entered into a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, titled Nimbus, alongside Amazon.

Internal documents show that Google employees repeatedly requested greater access to the company's AI technology on behalf of Israel — starting shortly after the October 7 attacks. An employee in Google's cloud division reportedly escalated appeals from the IDM for greater access to Vertex. In one document, an employee allegedly warned the IDM could turn to Amazon instead, losing Google business. A November document then allegedly shows the employee thanking their co-worker for assisting with the request. 

Additional documents from 2024 reportedly show further requests which  continued to as recently as November 2024, with an employee requesting the IDF receive access to Gemini AI technology in order to develop its own AI assistant. The request was for improved processing of audio and documents, but its unclear what earlier access pushes were used for in regards to military operations. 

The news sheds a fresh light on employees' protests over Google's cloud computing contract with Israel's government. Google employees have spoken out against the company's dealings with Israel since the contract began. However, the war brought renewed calls from its employees for Google to drop out of Nimbus. Instead, Google has fired over 50 employees for protesting the contract due to what it called "disruptive behavior." In mid-2024, over 100 Google employees — made up of managers and members of its human rights group — reportedly emailed the company to review the Nimbus contract, but Google ignored it. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-made-sure-israels-military-had-access-to-its-ai-tools-142130574.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/google-reportedly-made-sure-israels-military-had-access-to-its-ai-tools-142130574.html?src=rss
Creato 2mo | 22 gen 2025, 15:20:28


Accedi per aggiungere un commento

Altri post in questo gruppo

The best budgeting apps for 2025

Managing your finances doesn’t have to be a headache — especially with the right budgeting app at your fingertips. Whether you’re trying to track everyday spending, save for a big purchase or just

4 apr 2025, 10:10:09 | Engadget
Traeger built a smaller Flatrock griddle for smaller outdoor spaces

Traeger's only gas-powered grill is its

3 apr 2025, 22:30:17 | Engadget
Microsoft is reportedly walking back some data center plans

After a January announcement that it would spend

3 apr 2025, 22:30:16 | Engadget
NVIDIA confirms the Switch 2 has DLSS

This week's Nintendo Direct

3 apr 2025, 20:10:15 | Engadget