Memes

Background: Protesters gathered outside the UN’s “AI for Good” Summit in Geneva to condemn the very companies sponsoring it — Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and others — for simultaneously supplying the AI and cloud infrastructure reportedly used in military operations in Gaza. Big Tech sees no difference between “Ethical AI” and war crimes. #techlash
source: Protest in Geneva slams AI for Good Summit over big tech’s reported role in Gaza war

Background: After workers demanded the company drop a Pentagon contract called Project Maven in 2018, Google introduced the AI Principles, guidelines to ensure ethical use of Google’s AI. Google, however, continued taking military contracts, and when they could no longer deny what their AI was being used for, they opted to drop the principles rather than the contracts. #techlash

source: Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons, surveillance

Background: A coalition of legal and human rights groups formally notified Microsoft that its cloud and AI services — which powered Israel’s surveillance and “kill target” systems in what’s been called the world’s first AI-powered genocide — expose the company and its executives to criminal and civil liability under international and U.S. law, a reality Microsoft seems to be discovering with all the surprise of Grandma realizing war crimes are, in fact, illegal. #techlash

source: Microsoft’s Aiding of Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians Exposes Company and its Leadership to Legal Liability

Background: Amazon is providing the Israeli military with “endless” cloud storage holding surveillance data on nearly every person in Gaza — a trove that has been used to support airstrikes — while the company itself seems blissfully unbothered by its starring role in population-scale mass surveillance. #techlash

source: Report: IDF using Amazon cloud to store intel on ‘everyone’ in Gaza

Oracle CEO Safra Catz has made clear that the company’s “commitment to Israel is second to none” and that employees who don’t share that commitment “aren’t the right company for them” — a stance that, amid Oracle’s deep military contracts and reports of retaliation against pro-Palestinian staff, essentially boils down to: support enabling a genocide, or find the door.

source: Poised to Take Over TikTok, Oracle Is Accused of Clamping Down on Pro-Palestine Dissent

Background: Even after it had become undeniable that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and years of worker protests against Google’s business with Israel, Google still opted to sign a $45 million ad contract with Israel. This contract was used to disseminate propaganda denying famine in Gaza, which had been determined to be occurring by both the UN and the IPC. #techlash

source: Google’s $45 Million Contract With Netanyahu’s Office to Spread Israeli Propaganda

Background: Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, approved a contract with Israel’s government and military called Project Nimbus. Despite Israel’s history of war crimes and apartheid, and overwhelming evidence of genocide, including a formal accusation by South Africa through the International Court of Justice, neither Thomas Kurian nor any of Google’s top executives have admitted culpability or stopped doing business with Israel. Google has fired more than 50 employees for daring to voice criticism of the contract and accompanying culture of hate and abuse toward Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim workers and allies. #techlash

source: Google has fired 50 employees after protests over Israel cloud deal, organizers say

Suggested Posts

> Google removed the no-weapons, no-surveillance boundary from its AI principles. Hey @google, where’s the line now? #techlash

> When big tech companies say “AI for good”, they mean good for war profiteers. #techlash

> Microsoft “doesn’t think” ICE is using its tech for mass surveillance… so why is ICE tripling its cloud storage? @microsoft, figure it out! #techlash

> @google, you can fire your workers, but you can’t silence them. Our eyes are still on #ProjectNimbus #techlash

> @google doesn’t provide any transparency on #ProjectNimbus because they don’t have any. Not even they know everything Israel is doing with their tech. We need an independent audit NOW. #techlash