Google DeepMind employees in the United Kingdom have initiated efforts to form the first union at a frontier artificial intelligence laboratory, expressing dissatisfaction with the company's recent AI agreement with the US government. According to a report by Fortune, the Communication Workers Union, representing DeepMind workers, stated that employees aim to prevent Google's AI tools from being utilized by the US Department of War and the Israeli military.
Background of the Controversy
The move follows Google's decision to permit the Pentagon to deploy its AI models for "any lawful purpose" within classified military networks, triggering internal protests and criticism from employees. However, Google is not alone in such arrangements; companies like OpenAI, xAI, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon have also signed similar agreements with the Pentagon. Notably, Anthropic has declined such deals, leading the US Department of War to label it a "supply chain risk," a designation the company is contesting in court.
Employee Backlash and Unionization Efforts
The deal has sparked significant backlash within Google DeepMind, with over 600 employees signing an open letter opposing the agreement. Some workers have publicly criticized the company's increasing involvement in military contracts. Now, employees are seeking formal representation through the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union. According to the CWU, 98% of employees below the vice president level supported the unionization effort, with the proposed unit covering at least 1,000 staff linked to DeepMind's London office.
The union push includes demands to reinstate a previous company commitment, introduced after the 2018 Project Maven backlash, not to develop AI for weapons or surveillance that violates internationally accepted norms. Employees are also calling for an independent ethics oversight body and the right to refuse work on projects based on moral concerns.
Potential Actions and Demands
The campaign may extend to in-person protests and "research strikes," where employees could abstain from working on core products such as the Gemini AI assistant. Workers have given Google management ten working days to voluntarily recognize the unions or enter mediated negotiations before initiating formal legal proceedings.
The union bid reflects a broader effort to regain influence over company decisions. During the Project Maven controversy in 2018, employee protests led Google to withdraw from the contract. However, workers say that leverage has weakened in recent years due to layoffs, cost-cutting, and increased AI investment across the tech sector.
Employee Perspectives
One DeepMind UK employee told Fortune, "Hopefully this will help employees help the DeepMind and Google leadership grow a spine when it comes to standing up to what they have preached and publicly endorsed as our values and principles for the last two decades." Another researcher added, "One of the things we can look at through unionization is restoring that leverage. If we can manage to get a seat at the table, whether that's in the ethics review, the AI review, deployments, or even on the Alphabet board, that's where we could restore leverage." They continued, "In general, I don't think that leverage has ever been very direct; it's always been pointing out the problem, and making the cost to continue these controversial projects high enough that they are not worth it."
Union Official's Statement
John Chadfield, national officer for tech workers at the Communication Workers Union, said, "By exercising their rights to collectivize, they are in a strong position to demand their employer stop circling the ethical drain of military-industrial contracts, echoing the sentiment of many working people in the UK and elsewhere."
