Digital Rights Weekly Update: 9 - 15 May

What Google’s largest-ever acquisition of an Israeli software company tells us about Big Tech’s complicity in genocide

Mondoweiss

At a time when global concern is mounting over the crimes committed against civilians in Gaza, and calls are increasing to halt the genocide being carried out by Israel, recent news reveals a more dangerous role played by giant tech companies in fueling the Israeli war machine. In July 2024, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced the completion of its acquisition of the Israeli company Wiz for an unprecedented amount — $32 billion in cash. The move was described as the largest acquisition in Google’s history. But this deal goes beyond being merely a business investment; it reveals the depth of moral and technical involvement Silicon Valley companies have in supporting the economy of the Israeli occupation, and even in financing its military and intelligence arms. 

Google Worried It Couldn’t Control How Israel Uses Project Nimbus, Files Reveal

The Intercept 

The report makes explicit the extent to which the tech giant understood the risk of providing state-of-the-art cloud and machine learning tools to a nation long accused of systemic human rights violations and wartime atrocities. Not only would Google be unable to fully monitor or prevent Israel from using its software to harm Palestinians, but the report also notes that the contract could obligate Google to stonewall criminal investigations by other nations into Israel’s use of its technology. And it would require close collaboration with the Israeli security establishment — including joint drills and intelligence sharing — that was unprecedented in Google’s deals with other nations. A third-party consultant Google hired to vet the deal recommended that the company withhold machine learning and artificial intelligence tools from Israel because of these risk factors.

Israel seeks funding for plan to require facial recognition in exchange for food in Gaza

Biometric Update

Israel has been phasing in biometric technology for border control in the West Bank since 2024. Its military has deployed facial recognition in Gaza using technology from Corsight and Google Photos, according to the New York Times. There are no details on which company would deploy facial recognition for use on those seeking food. The United Nations has condemned the plan, which involves consolidating food aid at “four to 10 designated aid centers in southern Gaza,” as an attempt to use aid as bait. A release quotes UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder, who says the plan to move food distribution to the south and to require facial recognition tech “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and appears designed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic.”

How AI is being used for Israel’s benefit

Egypt Independent

Because the voices of those advocating for Palestine have resonated widely online, the lobby’s greatest fear is that they will automatically be part of the content that feeds AI programs. This means that within a few years, AI could become a tool that is not biased towards Israel and provides users with more accurate information that undermines its propaganda! What is now happening at Meta, the owner of Facebook and other platforms, indicates that the project to control artificial intelligence content has begun in earnest. Newspapers published a report revealing that Meta is teeming with American and Israeli AI specialists who served in the Israeli army, including the American head of the “Artificial Intelligence Division” at Meta.

The Rise Of AI Warfare: How Autonomous Weapons And Cognitive Warfare Are Reshaping Global Military Strategy

SCOOP

In their invasion of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have increasingly relied on a program supported by artificial intelligence to target Hamas operatives, with problematic consequences. According to an April 2024 report by +972 Magazine (an Israeli-Palestinian publication) and Local Call, a Hebrew language news site, the IDF has been implementing a program known as “Lavender,” whose influence on the military’s operations is so profound that intelligence officials have essentially treated the outputs of the AI machine “as if it were a human decision.” Lavender was developed by the elite Unit 8200, which is comparable to the National Security Agency in the U.S. or the Government Communications Headquarters in the UK.The Israeli government has defended Lavender for its practicality and efficiency. “The Israeli military uses AI to augment the decision-making processes of human operators. This use is in accordance with international humanitarian law, as applied by the modern Armed Forces in many asymmetric wars since September 11, 2001,” says Magda Pacholska, a researcher at the TMC Asser Institute and specialist in the intersection between disruptive technologies and military law.