Google cut a deal with the Pentagon allowing use of its artificial intelligence models on classified systems – setting up a showdown with hundreds of employees who have demanded that CEO Sundar Pichai walk away from the contract.
The deal allows the Pentagon to use Google’s AI for “any lawful government purpose,” The Information reported, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. Rivals OpenAI and xAI have recently struck similar deals after the Department of War cut ties with Anthropic over its refusal to remove safety “red lines” related to autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.
The partnership surfaced on the same day that more than 600 Google employees wrote a letter to Pichai stating they were “deeply concerned” about the firm’s negotiations with the Pentagon.
“Currently, the only way to guarantee that Google does not become associated with such harms is to reject any classified workloads,” said the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Otherwise, such uses may occur without our knowledge or the power to stop them.”
The workers added that “making the wrong call right now would cause irreparable damage to Google’s reputation, business and role in the world.”
The Post has reached out to Google for comment.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the Pentagon partnership and described it as an update to the company’s existing contract, which allowed its models to be used in non-classified military settings.
“We are proud to be part of a broad consortium of leading AI labs and technology and cloud companies providing AI services and infrastructure in support of national security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight,” the spokesperson added.
The language of Google’s agreement states that both the company and the Pentagon “agree that the AI System is not intended for, and should not be used for, domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons (including target selection) without appropriate human oversight and control,” according to the Information.
At the same time, it acknowledges that Google does not retain any right to “control or veto lawful government operational decision-making.”
The deal could create some new headaches internally for Google, which has frequently faced pressure from activist employees within its ranks over work with military applications.
In April 2024, Google employees staged sit-ins at company offices in New York and California to protest is business ties to the Israeli government during the war in Gaza.
The tech giant ultimately fired dozens of workers who participated in the sit-ins.
Meanwhile, Anthropic and its controversial CEO Dario Amodei are currently suing the Pentagon over its decision to label the company as a “supply chain risk” – a designation normally reserved for foreign-owned entities.
