Alphabet subsidiary Google DeepMind has included lifelong non-disparagement clauses in its employee contracts, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Employees are demanding the removal of the clause, arguing that it acts as a toxic provision preventing them from publicly speaking out about the potential risks of AI even after leaving the company.
The Washington Post reported that it confirmed these facts by reviewing the contracts and conducting anonymous interviews with two current employees.
Previously, former Google DeepMind employee Sophia Liguori stated in an interview with the BBC last month (October) that she publicly opposed Google's development of military AI.
At the time, she noted that while her employment contract contained a non-disparagement clause, she decided not to be bound by its restrictions.
Prompted by this, current DeepMind employees in the UK checked their own contracts and discovered that they similarly included non-disparagement clauses.
One employee stated that they do not believe the "lifelong non-criticism" clause in Google's contracts is legally enforceable, arguing, "If a clause is legally unenforceable, the only reason to have it is basically to scare people."
British law protects whistleblowers who inform the outside world about a company's actions for the purpose of the public interest.
According to The Washington Post, a Google executive responded to internal discussions regarding the non-disparagement clause on October 30, stating that the company would not apply the clause to former employees.
Additionally, a Google spokesperson explained, "We have updated the contract terms applied to recent new hires, which includes removing the portion that applies the non-disparagement clause even after the employment relationship ends."
However, current employees maintain the stance that the company must completely remove the clause not only from new contracts but also from existing employment contracts.
Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
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