DeepMind researcher quits over Google’s military AI contract

A Google DeepMind researcher has stepped down from his role, citing the company’s expanding work with the U.S. Department of Defense as the breaking point. His departure adds to a growing wave of internal dissent over the tech giant’s military partnerships.

Alex Turner, who spent over two years at Google DeepMind focusing on AI safety, resigned in June. He told Business Insider that the decision came after Google signed a contract allowing the Pentagon to use its AI for classified military operations. The deal, confirmed by the Pentagon in early May, also includes major players like Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI, and is intended for “lawful operational use.”

“When Google signed the deal, my conscience simply said ‘nope,’” Turner said.

A Google spokesperson responded to the Pentagon announcement in May by stating, “We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.” Yet the classified nature of the agreement limits how much Google can oversee its AI’s actual deployment, which has fueled unease among staff.

In April, roughly 600 of Google’s nearly 195,000 employees signed a petition urging the company to avoid classified military contracts. One DeepMind researcher posted on X that he felt “ashamed” of the Pentagon deal, while another employee published an internal resignation letter in May for the same reason.

Turner first considered leaving in February, when he anticipated Google would sign the defense agreement. “I think I would have stayed a few more months if they hadn’t signed the deal. When Google signed, I just couldn’t do any more work. My brain said ‘no,’” he wrote in a blog post. He added that he currently has no other job lined up.

Earlier this year, Turner proposed a framework for military AI that he hoped Google would adopt, including safeguards to ensure human control over AI targeting systems. A Google spokesperson said the company was open to hearing his ideas.

The controversy comes on the heels of Google’s updated AI principles in early 2025, which removed pledges against using AI for weapons or mass surveillance. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis co-authored a blog post announcing the changes, sparking employee backlash. In an internal message viewed by Business Insider, Turner pointed to a disconnect between Hassabis’s claim in a town hall that his principles hadn’t changed and the actual removal of those pledges.

“If I can’t trust this easily verifiable claim, how am I supposed to rest easy on the careful oversight he says protects us?” Turner wrote.

Turner said he managed to get the attention of top Google executives earlier this year. He had lunch with chief scientist Jeff Dean to discuss his concerns and helped organize an employee letter to Dean, who had publicly supported Anthropic during its dispute with the White House over military AI. The letter urged Google to set clear red lines in Pentagon agreements, such as barring Gemini from piloting autonomous weapons without human oversight.

Turner also sent his military AI proposal to Hassabis, who suggested it be evaluated by two senior policy staff at Google. After some initial discussions, Turner said he stopped getting responses. Soon after, the Pentagon deal was confirmed.

“At that point, I couldn’t stay at Google in good conscience, so I left,” Turner wrote in his blog post.

Now unemployed, Turner is focusing on independent AI safety and security work. “When an employee leaves a top AI lab, it’s often into the arms of another. They usually rack up a huge bonus that way. That’s not what I did: I didn’t flirt with competitor labs. I’m unemployed right now,” he added.