'Ashamed To Work': Google DeepMind Employees Resign Over Pentagon AI Contracts

Several Google DeepMind staff members have resigned, stating they were feeling 'ashamed to work' at the company due to the tech giant's deployment of its artificial intelligence (AI) technology for military use. The employees highlighted that they were particularly worried about the military deals involving the Pentagon as they 'greatly increase' the scope of what the US government can use the technology for.

Fearing that the technology could be deployed in warfare without adequate safeguards, the employees said they were concerned about the level of human oversight at critical moments.

"Realising my company is pushing more and more for AI systems in military operations makes me feel ashamed to work at Google," Sofia Liguori, a London-based research engineer who resigned this week, was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Another departing employee, AI researcher Andreas Kirsch, resigned earlier this month. He said Google's internal governance and oversight were inadequate to deal with the issue.

"Google seems to have no right to control or veto how the Pentagon uses its AI and also seems to have limited visibility into how it's being deployed," he said.

Reacting to the string of resignations, a Google spokesperson said the company has always worked with public institutions whilst following its compliance policies.

"We work with public sector organisations worldwide and follow a consistent process for reviewing and entering these contracts, including compliance with our acceptable use policies and AI principles," the spokesperson said.

"We also have dedicated channels for employees to safely raise any concerns - ranging from business ethics to misconduct - and have strict workplace policies in place to prevent retaliation of any kind."

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Previous Instance

This is not the first instance when Google has come under scrutiny for its dealings with the military. Alex Turner, a research scientist who worked for more than two years on AI safety at Google DeepMind, quit the company in June, stating that he made the decision soon after it became clear that the Pentagon was going to use Google's AI capabilities for classified work.

"Senior management had insisted that Google wouldn't sign. I disagreed with them, but they largely ignored my warnings," wrote Turner in a blog post published in July.

"Google still signed a deal handing over their AI without restrictions against killer robots or mass AI spying. Google's contract restrictions were even weaker than OpenAI's. At that point, I couldn't stay at Google in good conscience, so I left," he added.

In April, approximately 600 employees signed a petition, asking the company not to enter into any deal involving classified work.