Google Faces Backlash Over Contract with Israeli Military: Calls for Ethical Accountability
Protesters gathered outside a Google Cloud conference in San Francisco on Tuesday to express their discontent with the tech giant’s contract with Israel’s military. The demonstrators, including both former Google employees and local activists, chained themselves together and unfurled banners criticizing the company’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2-billion deal signed with the Israeli government and military. The protesters argued that Google’s technology could potentially be used to surveil and harm Palestinians.
This protest is the latest manifestation of ongoing tensions between Google’s workforce and its senior management regarding the ethical implications of the company’s technology. In recent years, Google employees have raised objections to military contracts, such as the company’s collaboration with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its role in a defense program focused on developing artificial intelligence tools for drone strikes. Workers claim that the company has suppressed information sharing, segregated controversial projects, and fostered a work culture that discourages dissent.
The specific details of the Project Nimbus contract remain undisclosed, with Google refusing to provide information about the capabilities it will provide to Israel and how they will be utilized. However, in July 2022, The Intercept reported that training documents indicated Google was supplying the Israeli government with software capable of facial recognition, emotion detection, and object tracking.
Google Cloud spokesperson Atle Erlingsson, in a statement to Wired, clarified that the company supports Israel’s government but asserted that critics had distorted the nature of Project Nimbus. He emphasized that the contract does not involve handling highly sensitive or classified military workloads but acknowledged that it grants the Israeli military access to Google’s technology.
Former Google employee Ariel Koren, a vocal critic of Project Nimbus, highlighted the significance of the timing of Google Cloud’s profitability milestone, which coincided with the 75th anniversary of the Nakba—an event referring to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Koren, who accused Google of retaliation for her criticism, claimed that the company stifles voices concerned about its complicity in Palestinian rights violations.
The protest in San Francisco follows a similar demonstration in July at an Amazon Web Services conference in Manhattan, where participants rallied against Project Nimbus. Mohammed Khatami, a YouTube software engineer and member of Alphabet Workers Union’s anti-military working group, explained that layoff announcements at Google earlier this year spurred his greater involvement in the union.
While Google has yet to respond to the recent protest or address the workers’ concerns over Project Nimbus, the demonstration underscores the increasing pressure on the company to prioritize ethical considerations. As criticism mounts, Google’s actions and responses to these issues will be closely scrutinized by both its employees and the public, emphasizing the need for greater transparency and accountability in the tech industry.
