GOOGLE:
Google reportedly worked with the Israeli military shortly after its ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, aiming to outpace Amazon in providing AI services, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post.
According to reports, Google worked with the Israeli military shortly after its invasion of the Gaza Strip, aiming to provide AI services before Amazon could step in. Documents obtained by the Washington Post reveal that in the weeks following the October 7th Hamas attack, Google’s cloud division directly collaborated with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
At the same time, Google faced internal protests, particularly over its $1.2 billion Project Nimbus contract, resulting in the firing of 28 employees who had staged sit-ins to voice their opposition.
AI TOOLS:
In the weeks following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, Google’s cloud division worked directly with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), despite the company publicly stating that it only collaborated with civilian government ministries, the documents suggest.
As the conflict progressed, an employee from Google’s cloud division expedited the IDF’s requests for access to Google’s AI technology, with another document indicating that Google needed to act swiftly or risk losing the contract to Amazon. By November 2023, a Google employee thanked a colleague for managing the IDF’s request, and later, further requests for additional AI tools from the military were made.
Simultaneously, Google faced internal protests over its involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with Israel’s government and military for cloud services. In response, Google terminated 28 employees who participated in sit-in protests across its offices in New York and California, some of whom were arrested.
Despite these actions, Google denied any direct involvement with the Israeli military, maintaining that its Nimbus contract was for civilian government ministries and was not linked to sensitive military or intelligence operations, as stated by Google Cloud communications manager Anna Kowalczyk in April 2024.
