Google says it made sure the Israeli military got access to its AI equipment

Google has been a major supplier of weapons to Israel in its war with Hamas than previously disclosed. New report from The Washington Post found that Google employees have repeatedly worked with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Defense Ministry (IDM) to increase the government’s access to AI tools. In 2021, Google entered into a $1.2 billion deal with the Israeli government, called A cloudalong with Amazon.

Internal documents show that Google employees have repeatedly requested greater access to the company’s AI technology on behalf of Israel – starting shortly after the October 7 attack. An employee of the Google Cloud Division says that they have fielded multiple complaints from IDM to get more information Vertex. In one document, an employee allegedly warned IDM that it would turn to Amazon instead, losing Google’s business. The November document then shows the employee thanking a co-worker for supporting the request.

Additional documents for 2024 are said to show some requests that continued until November 2024, an employee applying to the IDF for an opportunity Gemini AI skills to create its own AI assistant. The request was well prepared for audio and documents, but it is unclear what was used in connection with military operations.

The news also highlights the protests of Google’s cloud finance workers and the Israeli government. Google employees have spoken out against the company’s dealings with Israel since the deal began. However, the battle brought new calls from its employees for Google to leave Nimbus. In fact, Google has laid off more than 50 employees about to object to a contract that is to be performed to what he calls “disruptive behavior.” In mid-2024, more than 100 Google employees – made up of managers and members of their human rights group – reportedly sent the company an email to review the Nimbus deal, but Google ignored it.