There is a growing movement within Google urging the company to reconsider its involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with Israel that it shares with Amazon.
The protest group 'No Tech For Apartheid' has seen an increase in its membership, with at least 40 Google employees joining its effort.
Google Employees Stand Against Company's Association With Israel
The group aims to raise awareness about Google's association with the Israeli government.
At a recent company conference, Eddie Hatfield, a 23-year-old software engineer at Google, made a bold statement. He expressed his refusal to develop technology that supports genocide, apartheid, or surveillance, firmly asserting his stance as a Google Cloud software engineer. Shortly after, Hatfield was terminated, according to Time magazine.
Additionally, during a conference promoting the Israeli tech industry in midtown Manhattan on March 4, a member of the audience stood up in protest while Barak Regev, Google's managing director for Israel, was addressing the crowd.
Amidst the crowd, an angry voice rang out, declaring a strong stance against the misuse of technology.
The speaker, dressed in an orange t-shirt with the iconic white Google logo, identified themselves as a Google Cloud software engineer. "No tech for apartheid!"
The protest group claimed that hundreds more workers share their goals and sympathize with their viewpoints. TIME interviewed five current and five former Google employees and several of them expressed a growing frustration over the potential involvement of Google in the conflict in Gaza.
Two individuals who were previously employed by Google have recently announced their resignation from the company. Their decision to leave was motivated by their opposition to Project Nimbus.
The protest against Project Nimbus by No Tech for Apartheid is centered on the public's lack of knowledge about the project and its implications.
In 2021, the Israeli finance ministry announced a significant contract between Google, Amazon, and the Israeli government and military. The contract entails the provision of AI and cloud computing services.
According to reports, there are plans for Google to set up a secure illustration of Google Cloud in Israel. This would enable the Israeli government to carry out extensive data analysis, AI training, database hosting, and other high-powered computing tasks using Google's technology, with minimal oversight from the company.
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Project Nimbus: Google Cloud Contract With Israel
According to documents discovered by the Intercept in 2022, it appears that Google's Cloud services provided to Israel include advanced features like AI-powered facial detection, automated image categorization, and object tracking.
Additional information about the contract is limited or unavailable, and many workers are frustrated by what they perceive as Google's lack of openness regarding the other aspects of Project Nimbus and the extent of the company's connection with Israel.
No specific details regarding the capabilities offered to Israel under the contract have been disclosed by Google, Amazon, or Israel.
According to a statement from a Google spokesperson, it has been emphasized that the Nimbus contract is specifically intended for workloads on their commercial platform, serving various Israeli government ministries including finance, healthcare, transportation, and education. We focus on projects that do not involve highly sensitive or classified military workloads related to weapons or intelligence services.
There is no evidence to suggest that Google or Amazon's technology has been involved in any incidents resulting in harm to civilians.
The concerns raised by the Google workers revolve around three key factors. Firstly, they point to the Israeli finance ministry's clear statement that Nimbus would be utilized by the ministry of defense.
Secondly, they question the types of services that the Israeli government could potentially access through Google's cloud.
Lastly, they express doubts about Google's ability to effectively monitor how Israel may be utilizing its technology.
Concerns have been raised by workers regarding the potential misuse of Google's advanced AI and cloud computing tools for surveillance, military purposes, or other forms of weaponization.
According to reports, Google and Amazon are obligated to provide their services to various branches of the government, including the Israeli military, and are unable to terminate the contract based on public pressure.
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