Google DeepMind in talks with UK unions amid employee concerns over AI use in US and Israel

Google DeepMind has agreed to begin formal discussions with British tech workers that could lead to union representation. This is a groundbreaking move that comes amid growing employee concerns about the use of its AI by the U.S. and Israeli government defense and intelligence agencies.

The artificial intelligence arm of the multi-trillion-dollar Google empire, led by Nobel laureate Demis Hassabis, has agreed to meet with the Communications Workers Union and Unite at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) after several hundred workers at its London headquarters voted to unionize earlier this month.

Google DeepMind refused to voluntarily recognize unions for collective bargaining, but said in an employee email on Wednesday that talks at Acas “could lead to a formal vote in a few months, giving all eligible employees the opportunity to vote on whether they want to be represented by unions.”

The move comes as Google faces a legal challenge from…