Google DeepMind Engineer Resigns in Protest of Pentagon Contract
Sofia Liguori stepped down from DeepMind due to current military contracts — not speculative fears of an AI apocalypse. The post Google DeepMind Engineer Resigns in Protest of Pentagon Contract appeared first on The Intercept .
Sofia Liguori, a research engineer at Google's DeepMind, resigned in protest of the company's military contracts with the U.S. and Israel. Unlike other AI researchers who have left due to fears of AI turning against humanity, Liguori's departure was rooted in her concern over her employer's current practices. She joined DeepMind in 2023, working on AI systems for efficient power routing in the electrical grid, a peacetime engineering problem.
However, as she learned about Google's Project Nimbus - a contract with Israel's military and top weapons manufacturers for advanced AI tools - she began to question her role in the company. Liguori staged a "sick-out" after Google announced its classified military AI contract with the Pentagon in April, using sick leave and holiday time off to cease her work.
In an internal letter, she urged her colleagues to "stay human" in the face of military work and expressed her belief that AI deployment in the current society would be a "net evil."
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- Google DeepMind Engineer Resigns in Protest of Pentagon Contract theintercept.com
