TEHRAN – Iranian software engineer Alireza Zakeri has announced his resignation from Google over the company's collaboration with Israel on Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion AI and cloud services deal that benefits the Israeli military and is used in the ongoing assault on Gaza, which has already claimed over 43,000 lives. 

The Computer Olympiad medalist announced his decision to leave Google on Linkedin, saying he made the decision after the tech giant made it clear it that would not be withdrawing from the project. 

“I’m happy to announce that I have left Google! Why happy, even though I was working on exciting projects with talented coworkers? Because this decision reflects my values. After learning about Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus, I voiced my concerns for several months. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of many employees, leadership chose to maintain its stance and dismiss our collective concerns,” part of his message read.

“What good is it for man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Zakeri asked. 

Google employees in the United States have previously staged protests at company offices in New York City, California, and Seattle to voice their opposition to Project Nimbus. 

The contract, which is a joint venture with Amazon signed in 2021, provides Israeli authorities and the Israeli military with cloud computing infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and other technological services. The Israeli military's actions in Gaza in the past year have drawn intense international criticism, with United Nations experts and multiple countries characterizing them as genocide.

Adding to the controversy, a 2021 report by The Intercept detailed Google's provision of advanced AI technology to Israel under Project Nimbus. This technology, the report alleges, could be utilized for facial recognition and object tracking, raising significant concerns. Activists and academics have expressed alarm over Israel's use of AI in targeting Palestinians, while legal scholars argue that such deployment violates international law. These concerns are amplified by the potential for the technology to contribute to human rights abuses.

Google's official statements so far maintain that the Nimbus contract explicitly excludes "highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services." The company emphasizes its collaborations with numerous governments worldwide, including the Israeli regime. However, this assertion hasn't quelled the employee protests. 

The company's response to the dissent has been firm; at least 28 employees have been dismissed for their involvement in the protests, accused of violating Google's “code of conduct and policies related to harassment, discrimination, and retaliation”. The firings have further fueled the controversy, raising questions about Google's commitment to employee freedom of expression and its ethical responsibilities in providing technology to controversial clients.