Google AI workers in the UK have launched a pioneering unionisation bid to end use of their technology by Israel and the US military.

The British-based Google DeepMind employees – who aim to become the first frontier artificial intelligence (AI) lab worldwide to unionise – sent a letter to management this week to request recognition of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union as their official representatives. In a vote of CWU members at DeepMind, 98% backed the move.

John Chadfield, CWU national officer for tech workers, said: “This is a really important moment where tech workers at Google’s frontier AI lab are connecting with some of the most oppressed people in communities around the world in meaningful ways, based on foundational values of solidarity and trade unionism.

“By exercising their rights to collectivise they are in a strong position to demand their employer stop circling the ethical drain of military-industrial contracts, echoing the sentiment of many working people in the UK and elsewhere.”

The workers are part of a wider campaign, with DeepMind staff globally considering in-person protests and “research strikes” – where they abstain from work expected to significantly improve core products such as the Gemini AI assistant.

Google employees have previously protested the ethics of contracts such as Project Nimbus, a joint programme with Amazon to make cloud computing and AI tools available to Israel during its campaign in Gaza, which saw upwards of 70,000 dead. Meanwhile, Maven, a US government project from which Google withdrew in 2019 after staff protests, has reportedly been used in targeting in the Iran war.

The unionising DeepMind workers are seeking an end to use of Google AI by Israel and the US military. Their demands also include restoring a scrapped commitment not to make AI weapons or surveillance tools, the creation of an independent ethics oversight body, and the individual right to refuse to contribute to projects on moral grounds.

A DeepMind employee said: “We don’t want our AI models complicit in violations of international law, but they already are aiding Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. Even if our work is only used for administrative purposes, as leadership has repeatedly told us, it is still helping make genocide cheaper, faster and more efficient. That must end immediately, as must harm to Iranians and human lives anywhere.”

Google recently agreed to let the US Department of Defense use its AI models for classified work, a move opposed by over 600 employees. Google staff worry how the technology will be used given the deal could reportedly open the door to autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of US citizens, red-line issues that previously saw the Pentagon impose restrictions on competitor Anthropic.

The unionisation bid aims to gain representation for at least 1,000 staff tied to Google DeepMind’s London office. The employees’ letter gave management 10 working days to voluntarily recognise the CWU and Unite, or take other steps such as agreeing to mediated negotiations, before a formal legal process is launched to force recognition. Google DeepMind is headquartered in London, but has about a dozen offices across North America and Europe.

“I hope that recourse to the statutory procedure will not prove necessary,” CWU official Chadfield wrote in the letter. “We look forward to working with you in a spirit of co-operation on behalf of the workforce.”

The CWU branch for DeepMind staff is United Tech and Allied Workers.

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Two days before the Musk v. Altman trial began, Elon Musk asked OpenAI cofounder and president Greg Brockman about reaching a settlement. When Brockman suggested both sides drop their claims, Musk responded, “By the end of this week, you and Sam [Altman] will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, so be it.”

The message—which OpenAI’s lawyers made public on Sunday, and which Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers subsequently refused to let the jury hear about—underscores what may be Musk’s larger goal in this trial. He appears to be trying to not only win over the jurors to potentially remove Brockman and CEO Sam Altman from power, but also stir up dirt on the two men and damage OpenAI’s public image.

As Brockman took the stand on Monday, Musk’s attorney Steven Molo quickly started questioning him about his compensation at OpenAI. Brockman revealed that his equity stake at OpenAI is currently worth more than $20 billion, and perhaps up to $30 billion. While Brockman initially promised to donate $100,000 to OpenAI when it was being set up, he said he ultimately never followed through.

Brockman has held a number of instrumental roles at OpenAI since he cofounded the company in 2015. In the startup’s early days, it operated out of his apartment in the Mission District of San Francisco. Today, he’s deeply involved with refocusing OpenAI on a few key products, such as Codex. In the past year, Brockman has also given millions to super PACs promoting AI and President Trump, and has previously said this increased political spending is related to OpenAI’s founding mission to create artificial general intelligence that benefits all of humanity.

In court on Monday, Molo tried to make the case that Brockman and Altman had essentially looted OpenAI’s original nonprofit, which Musk funded and helped create.

In its early days, OpenAI told investors and employees that its nonprofit mission took precedence over generating profit. Brockman testified that his financial interests are still, to this day, second to OpenAI’s nonprofit mission.

When OpenAI created its for-profit arm in 2019, which received assets from the nonprofit, Brockman testified that he was given a significant stake in the new entity. Early in OpenAI’s history, Brockman had referenced wanting to be a billionaire, writing in his personal journal, “Financially what will take me to $1B?”

On Monday, Molo pressed Brockman for several minutes about the vast wealth he had accumulated beyond his initial goal.

“Why not donate that $29 billion to the OpenAI nonprofit? Why didn’t you do that?” Molo asked. Brockman responded that he and others had poured “blood, sweat, and tears” into building OpenAI in the years since Musk left the company.

OpenAI’s foundation holds a stake of over $150 billion in the company, making it one of the richest nonprofits in history, Brockman said. That’s roughly five times Brockman’s ownership interest. Altogether, OpenAI employees hold about 25 percent of shares. The foundation has 27 percent. Brockman testified that OpenAI’s nonprofit had received less than $150 million from donors, implying Musk had been incidental to the company’s success and that the real drivers were those who stuck around to build out OpenAI.

Of course, Brockman’s stake in OpenAI could be worth much more than $30 billion if the company successfully goes public in the next two years. When asked whether OpenAI was exploring a potential IPO, Brockman said he believes so.