According to a report from the Financial Times, about 300 London-based Google’s AI-focused DeepMind team seeks to join forces with the Communications Workers Union.
These Deepmind employees reportedly were dissatisfied with Google's decision to revoke assurances not to use AI for weapons or surveillance. They are also concerned about the company's cooperation with the Israeli military, which includes a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract that prompted Google to protest elsewhere.
A source told FT that team members felt “deception” and the letter reportedly indicated that at least five DeepMind employees cited the questions. DeepMind has approximately 2,000 employees in the UK.
A Google spokesperson told FT that the company encourages “constructive and public dialogue with all of our employees.”
A small group of about 200 employees at Google and its parent company Alphabet previously announced that they are setting up a union that, although as a union represents only a small part of Google Togle Workforce, lacks the ability to bargain together.
