Staff at Google Deepmind in the UK are planning a union to challenge the company’s decision to sell artificial intelligence technology with ties to Israeli government to defense groups, reported Saturday by the Financial Times.
About 300 London-based staff at Google Deepmind have been trying to join the Communication Workers Union in recent weeks, the report said it cites people familiar with the issue.
Google, Google Deepmind and the CWU did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Media reports suggesting Google is selling cloud services and AI technology to the Israeli Ministry of Defense has caused unease among employees, according to the report.
Google encountered previous troubles over its connections with Israel when it rejected 28 employees last year who protested the tech giant’s cloud contract with the Israeli government.
