With the passing of a year since the devastating war on GazaThe world is increasingly questioning the role of big technology companies in armed conflicts.
Among the most prominent issues raised in this context is the role of artificial intelligence and modern technological infrastructure in carrying out military operations.
According to a report published by Daily Sabah, this war highlighted how technological tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are used on modern battlefields, and raised profound questions about the responsibility of the companies that produce these tools.
Technology is at the heart of war
Over the course of this war, technology has emerged as a crucial tool in directing military operations and achieving goals on the ground.
Researcher Sophia Goodfriend, a fellow at Harvard University, pointed out that “the war on Gaza, like Ukraine, has become a laboratory for future wars,” as artificial intelligence technologies are being tested and developed directly on the battlefield, according to the Turkish newspaper.
The current war on Gaza is one of the largest conflicts that has witnessed extensive use of technology to direct attacks, which raises questions about the responsibility of major technology companies that provide these tools to the Israeli army.
And it was a company Amazon، GoogleandMicrosoft It is among the companies that have been widely criticized for its role in providing technological services that may have contributed to military operations.
Dissenting voices within technology companies
With the escalation of human losses in Gaza, where the number of victims was estimated at more than 41,600 people, the intensity of opposition within major technology companies increased.
According to a Daily Sabah report, Amazon has seen the number of its employees joining internal groups supporting Palestinian rights multiply 5 times over the past year.
One Amazon employee, who declined to reveal his name for fear of retaliation, said: “Just knowing how to use AWS in Gaza was enough to get people involved.”
Amazon was not alone in facing this criticism. Many Google and Microsoft employees expressed concern about the use of their technologies in the conflict, as internal protests and calls to stop supplying technology to the Israeli army erupted.
Daily Sabah quoted a former Google employee as saying: “Google continued to downplay concerns and did not respond to reports about how its technologies were being used in war.”
“Nimbus”… between technology and war
Among the most notable contracts that have sparked controversy is the $1.2 billion Nimbus project, which was awarded to Google and Amazon to provide cloud computing infrastructure for the Israeli government.
This project, announced in May 2021, was described as a “comprehensive response to providing cloud services to the government and security services.”
However, the project sparked widespread concern among employees of both companies, who expressed concerns that the technology would be used to enhance surveillance and expand illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding how the Israeli army will use Project Nimbus technologies in Gaza, media reports have indicated its potential role in identifying military targets through artificial intelligence.
Daily Sabah quoted reports that the Israeli army is using artificial intelligence to identify targets, an issue that has sparked widespread debate about whether this technology can be considered neutral or not.
Ethical challenges for companies
Deborah Brown, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, confirmed that “the line between what these companies provide and what the military does is blurred,” adding that there is an urgent need for more scrutiny before technology companies enter into lucrative contracts with militaries, according to what was reported by Daily Sabah. .
The researcher pointed out that these companies need to take serious steps to conduct human rights audits to ensure that they do not contribute to violations.
In addition to Nimbus, reports about Microsoft's role in providing cloud computing services to the Israeli army through the “Azure” platform have sparked great controversy, the Turkish newspaper says.
Microsoft employee Hossam Nasr, who participated in the “I Don’t Visit Apartheid” campaign, said: “What we see is that humans are fed into algorithms, and a decision is made about their lives with the push of a button.”
Censorship of pro-Palestine content
In addition, social media companies such as Meta (Facebook and Instagram) have been widely criticized for censoring pro-Palestinian content.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, censorship of Palestinian content is a global and systemic problem.
Former Meta employees confirmed that they were subjected to repression within the company when they tried to express their support for the Palestinian cause, according to the Turkish newspaper.