Category: Google

As members of the Responsible AI Community, we believe that technology can serve and uplift society, but only if we are attentive to the harms and devastating impacts emergent from its development and use. We recognize the role of technology deepening and advancing discrimination, oppression, and state violence everywhere.

For these reasons, and from our full commitment to fundamental human rights, we unreservedly condemn the Israeli state’s latest violence against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. As a community of Responsible AI practitioners, researchers, and advocates, we also condemn the use of AI-driven technologies for warmaking, in which the aim is to make the loss of human life more efficient, and the instances in which anti-Palestinian biases are perpetuated throughout AI-enabled systems.

History did not start on October 7th, 2023, but the current crisis reflects the horrific scale and extent of violence enabled by the use of AI-driven technologies. In May 2021, Israel’s army launched what it called the world’s first “AI war” against the people of Gaza. Unit 8200 of the Israeli intelligence agency has been at the forefront of using undisclosed algorithms for military targeting within the occupied territories. In July 2023, Bloomberg reported the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) further embedded AI into lethal operations to “select targets for air strikes and organize wartime logistics,” including the use of an AI recommendation system to select aerial targets. The Israeli government’s use of AI-driven technology has led to strikes against over 11,000 targets in Gaza since the latest conflict started on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli technological-military complex predates the use of AI. It is underpinned by the intrusive biometric and surveillance technologies that laid the groundwork for exponential and expedited dehumanization of Palestinians that we see today. The NSO Group, developer of the Pegasus cyberwarfare software, has been found on the phones of human rights defenders worldwide. Moreover, facial recognition technology restricts freedom of movement across checkpoints, and tools like Smart Shooter automate killing by adding AI to automatic weapons at those checkpoints. These are the very technologies purchased and deployed by law enforcement forces elsewhere in the world to police marginalized and oppressed communities.

Beyond weaponry, algorithmic systems reify and exacerbate the dehumanization of Palestinians. Seemingly innocuous technologies have been weaponized against Palestinians. Recently, Meta’s tools translated Arabic Instagram biographies from “Palestinian, alhumduallah [Praise be to God]” to “Praise be to God, Palestinian terrorists are fighting for their freedom.” Meta-owned WhatsApp created AI-generated images of brown boys with guns when given the prompt “Palestinian.” And years ago, a Palestinian man was arrested at a border checkpoint when Facebook translated his profile message of “Good morning” to “Attack them.” These moments uncover how Islamophobic and xenophobic biases are embedded in the very design of our tech-facilitated media ecosystem.

Now, this decades long, tech-enabled apartheid and occupation of the Palestinian people has culminated in a “complete siege” of Gaza – the densely populated home to 2.1 million residents, of which 1.7 million are refugees, and half of whom are newborns and children. As reiterated by genocide scholars and human rights experts, this siege, bombardment and forced expulsion is tantamount to a genocide of the Palestinian people. To date (November 13, 2023), 11,078 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, of whom 64% are estimated to be women and children.

As members of the Responsible AI community, we must reckon with the use of AI technology to commit such scales of violence and death that we are witnessing being carried out against Palestinians. We call on our community to demand that Western governments, international bodies such as the UN, and other actors who have influence in the international community push the Israeli government for an immediate ceasefire.

We also call on the technology companies we work with, and for, to:

• Withdraw technology support to the Israeli government and cease defense contracts with the Israeli government and military;
• Protect their employees, such as those at Google and Amazon who have called for an end to Project Nimbus and bravely demanded a ceasefire, from retribution and harassment; and,
• Stop the direct, and passive, automated censorship of content revealing the plights of Gazans and Palestinians on social media platforms such as X/Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as these recordings and posts are one of the few ways we are able to support Gazans and Palestinians from near and far.

And finally, we call on all of our colleagues within the AI and tech sectors to stand in solidarity with Palestinians and call for an end to their siege, bombardement and occupation.

Click here to become a signatory.

The letter will be updated with signatories once a day.

Listed in alphabetical order by first name. Affiliations provided for identification purposes only.

Each year, many around the world acknowledge August 6
th as a solemn remembrance of the WWII bomb attack on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

We are a collection of activists from the technology, business, and political spheres working for peace and civil liberties. We will host a Zoom event, “Harmony for Humanity” Sunday, August 6th, from 6pm to 8:30 pm Pacific time which is open to the public. Our
event will be focused not only on commemorating those who suffered and died due to the bombs but on current world conflicts and steps people can take, and can urge their leaders to take, to promote a peaceful world. Please sign up here.
This event is not financed, endorsed or supported in any way by any government, for-profit, or nonprofit corporation. It is 100% grassroots and supported by attendees.

This is not your Oppenheimer movie. For more information on this event visit NotYourOppenheimer.com This unique gathering brings together a diverse lineup of
talent, including four hilarious comedians, six inspiring speakers, and a captivating musician, all driven by a shared commitment to promote world peace.

Through laughter, thought-provoking discussions, and soul-stirring melodies, this event aims to create a space where the power of humor, ideas, and music converge to
facilitate important conversations surrounding nuclear disarmament and the preservation of human rights. Together we will explore the impact of the Hiroshima
bombing and its lasting consequences on both the survivors and the world at large.

Our incredible comedians will infuse the evening with laughter, using their witty and insightful humor to shed light on serious topics, break down barriers, and encourage meaningful dialogue. They will remind us that even in the face of adversity, laughter can
be a catalyst for change and an essential tool for healing.

Host:

Vahid Razavi
Founded Ethics In Technology 10 years ago and is now the founder of No Ethics In Big Tech, is the author of two books, The Age of Nepotism and Ethics in Tech and Lack
Thereof. As a lifelong activist and humanitarian, he has produced hundreds of videos on various social issues, including ethics in technology, Silicon Valley, regional politics, poverty, war, and social injustice.

Speakers:

Mr. Takashi Thomas Tanemori: was born in December 1937, in Hiroshima Japan. His father taught him, as the firstborn son, the Samurai Code, to guide him during many
years of searching. After surviving the bombing of Hiroshima, less than a mile from ground zero, losing his parents, and living with relatives, he emigrated to the Central Valley of California as a teenager. Along with authoring his life story in “Hiroshima: Bridge to Forgiveness” he has become a speaker for school, university, and spiritual multi-faith gatherings to share his story of Peace through Forgiveness.

Helen Jaccard : has been a crew member, public speaker, and the Project Manager of the Veterans For Peace “Golden Rule” sailboat project since 2015. She is also a
member of the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. Helen is an author and activist, educating the public about the environmental and cultural impacts of war, militarism, and the nuclear industry.

Norman Solomon : is an American journalist, media critic, antiwar activist, and former U.S. congressional candidate. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch
group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR). In 1997 he founded the Institute for Public Accuracy, which works to provide alternative sources for journalists, and serves
as its executive director. Solomon’s weekly column, “Media Beat”, was in national syndication from 1992 to 2009.

Dr. Dorsey : Blake serves as Presiding Minister of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples and Faculty Associate at the Pacific School of Religion. He is also a member of the Coordination Committee of the National Committee of Elders. Franchesca Fiorentini Correspondent and stand-up comedian. Host of Newsbroke and The Bitchuation Room Podcast. Will Durst Acknowledged by peers and press alike as one of the premier political satirists in the country,

Will Durst : has patched together a comedy quilt of a career, weaving together columns, books, radio and television commentaries, acting, voice-overs, and most especially, standup comedy, into a hilarious patchwork of
outraged and outrageous common sense. His abiding motto is, “You can’t make stuff up
like this.” The New York Times calls him “possibly the best political comic in the country.” Fox News agrees “he’s a great political satirist,” while the Oregonian hails him
as a “hilarious stand-up journalist.

Brett Wilkins is a San Francisco-based writer and activist whose work focuses on issues of war and peace, and human rights. He is a staff writer at Common Dreams.

José : is the Community Manager at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In 1990, he experienced the United States’ wars from the other side, visiting his family in Panamá while it was under US occupation. He has organized against war and militarism ever since. At EFF, he has worked on teams focused on police, carceral, and border technologies.

Chloe McGovern has performed at major clubs throughout New York City and the country, including The Comedy Cellar Underground, The Stand, Gotham Comedy Club, Caroline’s, The Hollywood Improv, and The Laugh Factory, among others.

Annette Mullaney is a San Francisco-based comic who’s performed all over the country, from SF Sketchfest and Austin’s Out of Bounds Festival to the Detroit Women
of Comedy Festival, and recently opened for Third Eye Blind. Originally from Michigan, she lived in Syria for several years and has been a software engineer, translator, and writer for a magazine that she now realizes was a money-laundering front for the cousin
of a dictator.

Musician

Mike Rufo’s songs and poems arc across the waves of life. His music is gripping and eclectic, reflecting his impassioned engagement with the world. Mike’s musical
language builds upon powerful lyrics, soaring vocals, driving rhythms, and melodic riffs that explore emotional depths and transformation. He also mixes things up with a knack for well-conceived parody, with a dash of political punch, like his popular singles Hit the Road, Trump! and Spyin’ Eyes