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Google executives have defended the company’s decision to end its DEI initiatives and drop its commitment against developing artificial intelligence (AI) for weaponry and surveillance, which is certain to stir more protests among staff and external pressure groups.
At an all-staff meeting, Melonie Parker, Google’s former chief diversity officer, confirmed that the company is discontinuing its DEI training programs and revising broader employee training to remove DEI content. Her role has also shifted to vice president of “Googler Engagement”.
The announcement follows the search engine’s decision to eliminate hiring targets for underrepresented groups and remove its pledge not to develop AI for harmful purposes, including weaponry and surveillance. The company first introduced the pledge in 2018 amid employee protests over its involvement in US military projects.
Legal compliance
Parker said the changes are partly in response to former President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which require federal contractors to dismantle DEI programs.
“What’s not changing is we’ve always hired the best person for the job,” Parker said.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai echoed this sentiment, stating, “Our values are enduring, but we have to comply with legal directions depending on how they evolve.”
Speaking from Paris at an international AI summit, Pichai reiterated Google’s commitment to a workforce that reflects its global user base while balancing regulatory demands.
Shifting AI policies
Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker explained that Google’s decision to revise its AI principles aligns with evolving geopolitical dynamics.
“A lot has changed since 2018,” Walker said. “It’s good for society that Google has a role in those conversations,” he added, suggesting that strict prohibitions on AI applications may conflict with nuanced geopolitical needs.
The changes have inevitably sparked an employee backlash. At the meeting, executives responded to over 190 questions submitted by staff, many from activist groups like No Tech for Apartheid, which criticized Google’s policy shift as abandoning core values.
The firm has faced internal protests over military contracts before. In 2018, employee pressure led the company to withdraw from Project Maven, a US Defense Department initiative using AI to analyze drone footage. Following the controversy, Google established AI principles that explicitly prohibited building AI for weapons or surveillance.
Despite its earlier stance, Google has re-engaged with the US military, securing a $9billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract alongside Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. The company is also involved in Project Nimbus, a controversial AI initiative with the Israeli government, which has been sanctioned or criticised multiple times by the International Court of Justice in the Hague (ICJ), the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Amnesty International and many other international bodies. An arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Secretary Yoav Gallant, has already been issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Documents obtained by the Washington Post revealed that Google provided AI capabilities to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and accelerated access following the October 7 attacks. Although the extent of the AI’s military applications is unclear, reports suggest the technology may have assisted in identifying bombing targets.
The developments at Google illustrate a significant pivot in the tech industry’s approach to diversity and ethical AI, signalling potential implications for corporate governance, employee relations, and international security dynamics.
It seems unlikely that such moves will not be met with continued resistance from employees, pressure groups and other external groups, creating additional challenges for HR departments and leaders.
