Over 560 Google employees have signed an open letter asking CEO Sundar Pichai not to allow the use of AI technologies for military purposes.

More than 560 Google employees have signed an open letter addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai, requesting that the company's artificial intelligence technologies not be used in classified military operations of the United States. They argue that AI should be used to benefit humanity and not for harmful purposes, such as autonomous weapons and mass surveillance. The employees are asking Google to refuse collaboration with military projects, warning that such uses could occur without internal oversight. The initiative comes in the context of discussions in the tech industry regarding the involvement of AI companies in defense. Additionally, the employees mention information about a possible agreement between Google and the Department of Defense, which could affect the company's reputation and civil rights. The letter was coordinated by employees of DeepMind and comes especially from AI and cloud teams. Google has been criticized in the past for its involvement in military projects, and employees are expressing their concerns regarding recent changes in the company's principles regarding the use of AI.