Over 600 Google employees sign letter to CEO Sundar Pichai opposing classified Pentagon AI use

Over 600 Google employees, including more than 20 principals, directors, and vice presidents from Google's DeepMind AI lab, signed a letter demanding that CEO Sundar Pichai block the Pentagon from using Google's AI models for classified purposes.

The letter argues that rejecting classified workloads is the only way to guarantee Google does not become associated with potential harms, as classified uses could occur without employees' knowledge or ability to stop them.

The letter references recent reporting that Google and the Pentagon are discussing a deal to deploy Gemini AI in classified settings, joining Microsoft and OpenAI, which already have agreements to provide AI services in classified environments.