Google has signed a classified agreement allowing the US Department of Defense to use its AI models for “any lawful government purpose,” according to a report from The Information published in April 2026. The deal was disclosed less than a day after Google employees urged CEO Sundar Pichai to block the Pentagon from accessing its AI, citing concerns it could be used in “inhumane or extremely harmful ways.”
The agreement, described by The Information based on a single anonymous source with knowledge of the situation, states that both parties have agreed Google’s AI systems should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons “without appropriate human oversight and control.” However, the contract also specifies that it does not give Google “any right to control or veto lawful government operational decision-making,” suggesting those restrictions may not carry legally binding weight.
In a statement to Reuters, a Google spokesperson said the company believes AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight. “We believe that providing API access to our commercial models, including on Google infrastructure, with industry-standard practices and terms, represents a responsible approach to supporting national security,” the company said.
If confirmed, the deal would place Google alongside OpenAI and xAI, both of which have also entered classified AI agreements with the US government. Anthropic was previously in that group but was reportedly blacklisted by the Pentagon after refusing demands to remove weapon and surveillance-related guardrails from its AI models.
The timing of the report — arriving just as internal dissent at Google was becoming public — may raise further questions about how the company weighs employee concerns against government contracts, though the nature and full scope of the classified agreement remain undisclosed.
Source: The Verge