Google inks Pentagon deal for classified AI work despite uproar from employees warning of ‘irreparable damage’

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.

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