Employees at Google’s DeepMind in London have voted to unionize as part of a bid to block the AI lab from providing its technology to the US and Israeli militaries. The push for unionization began after Alphabet removed a pledge not to use AI for purposes like weapons development and surveillance from its ethics guidelines.

“The direction of travel is to further militarization of the AI models we’re building here,” said an anonymous DeepMind employee, reflecting on how the lab’s ethos has shifted. The workers are now asking Google to recognize the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union as joint representatives for DeepMind employees.

In February 2025, Google’s parent company Alphabet changed its ethics guidelines, removing a pledge not to use AI for weapons development and surveillance. This move sparked a wave of concern among staff who believe they are now under pressure to develop technology that could be used in military applications.

The push to unionize has been met with resistance from Google, which previously defended its deals with government organizations, stating: “We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.”

If the staff succeed in unionizing, they are likely to demand that Google pull out of its long-standing contract with the Israeli military and seek greater transparency over how its AI products will be used, with some assurance relating to layoffs made possible by automation.