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Protesting Google’s Ties to the Israeli Military
A sit-in held by more than 10 workers on the 10th floor of Google’s New York City headquarters aimed to protest the company’s connections to Israel. The demonstration was organized by “No Tech for Apartheid” and accompanied by a simultaneous sit-in within Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office in Sunnyvale, California. The protestors are urging Google to terminate Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract shared with Amazon to offer cloud computing services to the Israeli government and military.
Employee Stand Against Google’s Involvement
Cheyne Anderson, a Google software engineer and organizer for No Tech for Apartheid, expressed the demonstrators’ hopes for Google to end Project Nimbus and all aid to the Israeli military. Anderson questioned how the company could continue business as usual given the troubling reports emerging from Gaza. The movement against Google’s affiliations with the Israeli military is quickly gaining traction within the company.
The Israeli Finance Ministry previously referred to Project Nimbus, created by Google and Amazon, as a comprehensive cloud solution for the nation’s defense sector back in 2021. No Tech for Apartheid is advocating for increased transparency regarding how Israel’s military leverages Google’s services. Notably, cloud providers like Google often lack deep insights into how government clients use their servers.
Current and former Google employees joined the protestors in Manhattan, standing up against their company’s ties to the Israeli military. Despite facing resistance from the building’s security, some employees refused to leave Google’s office during the sit-in, highlighting their dedication to the cause.
Concerns Over AI’s Role in Warfare
Part of the demonstration included calls for the reinstatement of Eddie Hatfield, a software engineer fired by Google for protesting against Israel’s tech connections during a company event. Demonstrators believe Hatfield’s termination aimed to dissuade others from speaking out against the company’s associations with the Israeli government.
While there’s no direct evidence implicating Google or Amazon in civilian casualties caused by the Israeli military, reports from +972 magazine suggest that Israel uses advanced AI systems, such as “Lavender,” to mark individuals in Gaza as targets for attacks. Another AI system named “The Gospel” is reportedly employed by Israel to select bombing targets. The cloud provider supporting these AI technologies remains undisclosed, but experts suggest a sophisticated computing infrastructure plays a vital role.
No Tech for Apartheid embodies the rising concerns within the tech industry regarding the use of AI in warfare. Recent departures of two workers from Google underscore the internal discord over the company’s collaboration with the Israeli government. While technology has traditionally intersected with conflict, many Google employees hope to disentangle the company from such involvement.
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