By Alice Speri
Publication Date: 2026-05-05 05:05:00
Workers developing Google’s artificial intelligence products in the United Kingdom have voted to unionize, partly because of concerns about a deal between the company and the U.S. military announced last week.
In a letter sent to management on Tuesday and seen exclusively by the Guardian, staff at Google DeepMind, the company’s AI research lab, called for the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union to be recognized as joint representatives of the lab’s UK-based staff.
DeepMind’s UK workers voted to unionize in April. One of the employees said they were particularly driven by reports that Google was close to reaching a deal with the Defense Department, pointing to the U.S.’s “capricious Iran war” and the Trump administration’s feud with Anthropic as signs that the department was “not a responsible partner.” The deal was finally announced on Friday.
“I joined the union because I fear that AI could be used to strengthen authoritarianism…”
