Google secretly supports Israel's defence ministry with AI tools

As employees protest, Google's AI collaboration with Israel surfaces in investigative report.

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Google has been providing advanced artificial intelligence tools to Israel’s Defence Ministry and military operations during the war in Gaza, according to an investigation by The Washington Post.

The report, released on Wednesday, revealed that Google granted expedited access to its Vertex AI service for the Israeli Defence Ministry shortly after the conflict erupted on October 7, 2023.

Internal documents also indicated concerns among Google employees over losing contracts to competitors like Amazon if the company delayed access to its AI tools.

A November 2023 document detailed a Google employee thanking a colleague for assisting with a Defence Ministry request, while additional documents from 2024 showed ongoing efforts to provide the Israeli military with expanded AI technology.

By November 2024, the Israeli military was still requesting Google’s latest AI platforms, including the Gemini AI technology for text and voice processing. However, the documents did not specify how the tools were utilised or their direct impact on military actions.

These revelations come amid protests from Google employees who opposed the company’s Nimbus cloud computing contract with the Israeli government.

Google has yet to publicly comment on the allegations, though Israel has previously collaborated with tech companies to bolster its military capabilities.

Critics argue that Google’s actions raise ethical questions about the role of technology companies in global conflicts and the potential misuse of AI tools in military operations.

Earlier this week, Hamas released three Israeli hostages while Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, marking the beginning of a ceasefire that paused a 15-month-long conflict which had caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and escalated tensions across the Middle East.

The truce allowed Palestinians to return to devastated areas to start rebuilding their lives, with relief supplies arriving to provide essential aid.

Meanwhile, jubilant crowds in Gaza celebrated as Hamas fighters emerged from hiding. Fireworks lit the skies in Ramallah, West Bank, where buses carrying released Palestinian prisoners were met by thousands of supporters.

According to Hamas, those freed included 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem.

Gaza health officials estimate over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, leaving nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents homeless.

The ceasefire terms involve halting hostilities, the delivery of aid to Gaza, and the release of 33 additional hostages over a six-week initial phase in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Many hostages are feared to have died.

In northern Gaza, residents sifted through the ruins of bombed-out neighbourhoods following the war’s most intense battles.

The ceasefire came into effect after a three-hour delay, during which Israeli airstrikes killed 13 people, according to Gaza health officials. Israel attributed the strikes to Hamas’ delay in providing a list of hostages to be released, while Hamas described the delay as technical.