At least 200 employees at DeepMind, Google's AI research and development division, were unhappy with the reports about Google's defense contracts, and circulated a letter to that effect within the company in May, according to Time.
The letter, dated May 16, cited an article about the tech giant's contract to provide AI and cloud computing services to the Israeli military, saying the signatories were concerned about “Google's contracts with military organizations.”
“Any involvement in the military or weapons manufacturing would impact our position as a leader in ethical and responsible AI and is contrary to our mission statement and stated AI principles,” the letter added.
The memo, while representing a relatively small percentage of the organization's overall staff, suggests a culture clash between Google and DeepMind, a company that Google acquired in 2014 and which Google pledged in 2018 to never use its technology for military or surveillance purposes.