WASHINGTON, D.C. — Google signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to make its artificial intelligence models available for classified work, allowing the Pentagon to use the technology for any lawful government purpose. The agreement requires Google to adjust its AI safety settings and filters at the government's request.

The contract specifies that the AI system is not intended for, and should not be used for, domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons, including target selection, without appropriate human oversight and control. The agreement also states that it does not give Google the right to control or veto lawful government operational decision-making. Classified networks are used to handle mission planning and weapons targeting.

In 2025, the Pentagon signed agreements worth up to $200 million each with Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. The department had been pushing OpenAI and Anthropic to make their AI tools available on classified networks without the standard user restrictions. Anthropic faced fallout with the Pentagon after it refused to remove guardrails against using its AI for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance, and the department designated the company a supply-chain risk.

The Pentagon said it has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans or to develop lethal weapons that operate without human involvement, but wants any lawful use of AI to be allowed. The Pentagon declined to comment on the agreement with Google.

A Google spokesperson said the company supported government agencies across both classified and non-classified projects and remained committed to the consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight. "We believe that providing API access to our commercial models, including on Google infrastructure, with industry-standard practices and terms, represents a responsible approach to supporting national security," the spokesperson said.

More than 600 Google employees signed an open letter to Chief Executive Sundar Pichai expressing concerns about negotiations between Google and the Pentagon. "We feel that our proximity to this technology creates a responsibility to highlight and prevent its most unethical and dangerous uses," the employees wrote. "Therefore, we ask you to refuse to make our AI systems available for classified workloads," the employees wrote.

"Making the wrong call right now would cause irreparable damage to Google's reputation, business and role in the world," the letter added. The letter cited lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance as examples of potentially harmful applications of AI.

Also in 2025, Alphabet removed language from its ethical guidelines that promised the company would not pursue technologies that cause or are likely to cause overall harm, lifting a ban on its use of AI for weapons and surveillance tools. In 2018, thousands of Google employees signed a letter protesting the company's involvement in a contract with the Pentagon to analyze drone surveillance footage using its AI tools. Google chose not to renew the Project Maven contract in 2018, and Palantir took over the work.