Google CEO Sundar Pichai faced a significant backlash during his commencement speech at Stanford University over the weekend, as around 200 students walked out in protest. The walkout was directed towards Google's defence ties, including its $1.2 billion contract with Amazon to provide cloud and AI services to the Israeli military through Project Nimbus.
According to reports, student signs included phrases such as 'ICE SPIES WITH GOOGLE AI' and 'GENOCIDE RUNS ON GOOGLE', highlighting concerns over Google's involvement in Israel's military activities. The protest also drew attention to Google's relationship with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The controversy surrounding Project Nimbus has been ongoing for some time, with several employees being fired by Google in 2024 for protesting against the contract. Despite this, internal dissent within the company continues.
Google has not commented on the matter, but the incident highlights the growing tensions between tech companies and their critics over issues of accountability and ethics in defence contracting.