Google signs on to Pentagon contract for classified work

Joining OpenAI and xAI, Google’s contract follows the controversial «all lawful government use» rules for classified work at the DoD, The Information (paywalled) was first to report.

The contract is quoted by Reuters to include specific language against use for «domestic mass surveillance» and autonomous weapons «without appropriate human oversight and control,» but Google doesn’t get to second guess or outright ban this usage of their models, The Verge reports.

Anthropic famously defected from its Pentagon contract over precisely these issues, but OpenAI quickly signed on to a contract with better language.

Rumors of a coming deal sparked protest internally at Google, with 600 Googlers signing a letter demanding that Google refuse any classified use, as they also did over Israel contracts.

Read more: The Information (paywalled), Reuters, The Verge, and TechCrunch.