Google Drops Lifetime Gag Clause for New AI Hires as DeepMind Staff Press Existing Contracts
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 3
Google Drops Lifetime Gag Clause for New AI Hires as DeepMind Staff Press Existing Contracts
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 3
Summary
Google said it has removed post-termination non-disparagement clauses from contracts for new AI hires after DeepMind employees protested language that barred some U.K. staff from criticizing the company even after leaving.
Dozens of workers recently discussed the clauses internally, arguing they could chill warnings about AI risks and military uses even if British whistleblower law might make a lifetime restriction unenforceable.
The push intensified after former DeepMind employee Sofia Liguori told the BBC last month that she ignored her contract restrictions to oppose Google's military AI work, prompting current staff to review their own terms.
Google says it has long encouraged debate on AI safety and will not enforce the clauses against former employees, but current workers want the language removed from existing contracts as well.
The dispute adds to wider unease inside leading AI labs, where researchers at Google, OpenAI and Anthropic have publicly raised concerns about the technology's societal risks.
What classified military AI projects are Google DeepMind employees so desperate to expose that they are fighting to rewrite their employment contracts?
If Google promises not to sue whistleblowers, why are they refusing to officially erase the silence clauses from existing employee agreements?
Could a hidden legal clause in tech contracts be the only thing stopping experts from warning the public about an imminent AI catastrophe?