At the time, Google spokesperson Anna Kowalczyk stated that the deal was “not directed at highly sensitive or classified military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services.”
However, Gaby Portnoy, head of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, painted a different picture. At a 2024 conference, he said, “Thanks to the Nimbus public cloud, phenomenal things are happening during the fighting, these things play a significant part in the victory — I will not elaborate.”
In response to ongoing protests, Google fired dozens of employees in 2024 who had spoken out against the Nimbus contract.
What’s Next for Google and AI Ethics?
The removal of Google’s anti-military AI policies raises concerns about the company’s future direction. Will Google pursue military AI contracts? Will more ethical guidelines be quietly altered?
For now, the company remains tight-lipped, leaving employees, activists, and industry watchers to speculate on what this shift means for the future of AI and warfare.
