Tech companies’ collaborations with Israel trigger AI ethics debate

The use of AI is expanding in every direction from education to entertainment, and while there are no restrictive measures, some principles have been in place to avoid weaponizing AI tools.

However, Google updated its AI principles in a Feb. 4 blog post, as the firm believes it is no longer committed not to use AI for weapons and surveillance.

“We believe that companies, governments, and organizations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security,” it said.

The use of AI in fields that can cause deaths, such as the defense industry and surveillance, led to significant protests in 2018. Thousands of employees protested Google due to a contract with the Pentagon, “Project Maven.”

In 2023, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) started working with Israel after attacks on the Gaza Strip, competing with Amazon to provide AI to the Israel military (IDF), according to a report by the Washington Post.

A Google employee warned the company to urgently meet Israel’s needs, otherwise it would lose the chance to Amazon, a document cited by the Washington Post showed.

In another document, an employee thanked a coworker for delivering on the IDF’s requests in November 2023, while another message months later showed that the same employee requested additional access to Google’s AI tools for Israel.

Last year, Google employees protested against Project Nimbus, signed between Amazon, Google and the Israeli government in 2021, which allows the cloud computing and machine learning infrastructures to collect and analyze data, and predict future outcomes.