FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK and No Tech for Apartheid Disrupt Google Presentation and Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at AI+ Expo
WASHINGTON — Activists from CODEPINK and No Tech for Apartheid disrupted Google’s “Responsible AI” presentation today at the AI+ Expo to expose the company’s hypocrisy in promoting ethical artificial intelligence while enabling genocide in Gaza and surveillance in occupied Palestine. Following that disruption, they were also able to disrupt former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Disrupters called attention to Google’s $1.2 billion cloud computing and AI contract with the Israeli military, known as Project Nimbus, which provides advanced technology used in military operations against Palestinians in Gaza. Protesters denounced the company’s involvement in a genocide facilitated by AI infrastructure.
Then three protestors, holding up two Palestinian flags, were quickly blocked and forcibly removed from Dr. Schmidt’s panel, “Delivering AI Advantage,” with former New York Times Pentagon correspondent Thom Shanker serving as the interlocutor.
The activists shouted “You are killing people in Palestine” and “Google and its AI are profiting off of killing innocent lives” in Palestine. Aside from being featured at the AI+ Expo, Eric Schmidt is also hosting the Schmidt’s SCSP expo with the Israeli embassy and security think tank MIND Israel, led by ex-military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, amid ongoing protests over Google and Amazon’s Project Nimbus contract with the Israeli government and military.
Beyond Project Nimbus, activists highlighted Google's recent rollback of its pledge not to develop AI for weaponry, its role in aiding Israeli surveillance of Palestinians at illegal checkpoints, and its ongoing contracts with U.S. immigration authorities, including Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—agencies known for detaining civilians without due process.
“Google has the blood of countless children on its servers,” said Olivia DiNucci, CODEPINK DC organizer. “They are complicit in crimes against humanity from Gaza to the U.S.-Mexico border.”
The demonstration is part of a growing global movement calling tech companies to cut ties with militaries and oppressive governments. Protesters are demanding that Google:
- Cancel Project Nimbus
- Cut all ties with the Israeli military
- End contracts with ICE and CBP
- Commit to transparency and ethical guidelines that center human rights
For more information, please contact Melissa at [email protected].
###
