The current use of AI by the Israeli and US military poses a number of ethical challenges for tech workers at the forefront of AI development and universities with tight connections to AI research labs.
Within a political climate of increased military spending and the growing presence of war, this event focuses on the militarisation of AI through a series of short presentations from organisers, researchers, and former and current workers from Google and Google DeepMind.
Organised by members of the UCL BDS group and GDM members of the United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW) branch of CWU, the ambition here is to outline the critical role of AI in modern warfare and address what forms of resistance are possible from within and beyond these institutions.
Speakers:
- Vikram Subrmanian is an ex-Google Engineer who organizes with No Tech For Apartheid (NoTA).
- Sonia Fereidooni is a PhD Candidate in Digital Humanities at the University of Cambridge studying the weaponization of representation through Generative AI and its militarization within the military-industrial-academic complex.
- Eran Cohen is a senior organiser for United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW), has been supporting UTAW members across the sector, and especially in Google and Google DeepMind organise in solidarity with Palestinians.
- Sofia Liguori is a Research Engineer and UTAW representative.
- Khaled Odetalah is a Palestinian researcher and public intellectual from Jerusalem specializing in colonialism, war studies, and the military historical geography of Palestine. In 2012, he founded the Suliman Al-Halabi Department for Colonial Studies and the Liberation of Knowledge, an initiative dedicated to the critical study of colonial structures, anti-colonial struggles, and popular education.
Note: this event will take place on UCL campus. The exact location will be shared via email the day before the event. Please review terms and conditions below.