More than 560 Google employees, including senior researchers and executives from its DeepMind artificial intelligence lab, have signed an open letter urging Chief Executive Sundar Pichai to refuse classified military contracts for the company’s AI technology, as Google negotiates an expanded deal with the United States Department of Defense.
The letter, sent to Pichai on Monday, was coordinated largely by DeepMind staff, with roughly two-fifths of signatories from the AI division and a similar share from its cloud unit, and the rest drawn from across the broader Alphabet group. More than 18 senior staff, including principals, directors and vice-presidents, signed openly.
The letter raises concern over ongoing negotiations between Google and the Defense Department over the potential use of its Gemini AI models in classified settings, which would grant the Pentagon access for all lawful purposes.
The central objection is one of oversight. Because classified networks are by definition opaque and isolated from the public internet, employees argue there is no mechanism to ensure the technology would not be used to profile individuals, target civilians, or erode civil liberties beyond public scrutiny.
“The only way to guarantee that Google does not become associated with such harms is to reject any classified workloads,” the letter states. “Making the wrong call right now would cause irreparable damage to Google’s reputation, business, and role in the world.”
The push comes after Google in February 2025 quietly removed language from its artificial intelligence principles that had previously pledged to avoid developing weapons or surveillance technologies that violate internationally accepted norms. DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis defended the shift at the time, citing global competition for AI leadership.
The campaign draws explicit inspiration from a 2018 employee revolt against Project Maven, a programme that used AI to improve drone targeting, which resulted in Google declining to renew the contract after thousands of staff signed a petition and several resigned.
DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean has been among the most prominent internal voices on the issue, stating publicly that mass surveillance violates constitutional protections and has a chilling effect on free expression. Pichai has not publicly responded to the letter.
Google’s fiscal 2026 defence budget includes $13.4 billion dedicated to artificial intelligence and autonomy, illustrating the scale of what a classified Pentagon deal could represent.
