Google promised never to build AI weapons; then director René Mayrhofer resigned when the tech giant broke that promise

René Mayrhofer, a senior Android security official, left Google after the tech giant signed a contract giving the US Department of Defense access to its artificial intelligence systems for classified military work.

A senior Google executive resigned in protest of the company’s decision to provide AI technology to the US military; He said the move made his departure “inevitable” and that the leadership had abandoned the ethical principles that once defined the company.

René Mayrhofer, director of Android platform security, said: Business Content He said he distributed a farewell letter to colleagues on May 18 in which he accused Google’s senior leadership of quietly reneging on commitments on both climate and war and warned that the Pentagon deal could eventually be used against European citizens.

Why did a Google executive walk away from one of tech’s most coveted jobs?

Mayrhofer, who joined Google in 2017 and holds a tenured academic position at Linz Johannes Kepler University in Austria, said that the company whose job offer he accepted is no longer like the company he works for today.

“Google management has quietly abandoned its carbon neutrality goals due to AI model energy use,” he later wrote in a note posted on his personal blog. “Worse still, the current Google administration is currently signing agreements with the US War Department, where the current US government’s ‘lawful intent’ has been proven time and time again to violate international law.”

he said Business Content He is careful to note that he “personally doesn’t/can’t adapt to the overall direction of the company” of working with the U.S. military, but that “some very good people remain” on his team.

Pentagon AI contract that triggered resignation

Google announced in late April that it had signed a deal with the US Department of Defense to provide artificial intelligence technology for covert operations, including military planning and intelligence gathering. Business Content‘s previous report. The deal was immediately criticized by the workforce; Some employees had previously lobbied for the leadership not to continue.

A Google spokesperson said Business Content The company was “proud” to be part of a consortium of AI labs providing services that “support national security,” adding: “We are committed to the private and public sector consensus that AI should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons without appropriate human oversight.”

How Google’s AI ethics policies were quietly eliminated

At the heart of Mayrhofer’s complaints is a pattern of decisions being made without what he calls internal debate or transparency. He pointed to Google’s AI principles, which were first drafted in 2018 and include clear commitments not to develop weapons or surveillance tools using AI. In February 2025, Google revised these guidelines and removed the restrictions completely.

“None of this is discussed or communicated internally,” Mayrhofer wrote, saying the resulting choices were “decided solely by senior management.”

‘I am a pacifist’: Personal belief behind resignation

Mayrhofer was outspoken about the values ​​that guided his decision, describing himself as a long-time conscientious objector to military aggression.

“I am a pacifist and decided a long time ago that I would not personally work for armies participating in wars of aggression,” he wrote. “Proactively harming people is not something I can or would be involved in.”

He also expressed concerns specific to his position as a European academic. Citing a Politico report in which a Belgian university warned its staff not to cooperate with US institutions, Mayrhofer argued that Google’s open-ended Pentagon contract poses a direct risk to people like him.

“This agreement means that Google (AI) products will likely be used directly to and against me. In this latest environment, I cannot see how I cannot resign.”

Mayrhofer is not alone: ​​Opposition grows at Google

Mayrhofer isn’t the first Google employee to speak out. Andreas Kirsch, research scientist at Google DeepMind, said: Inside BusinessHe said in April that he was “incredibly embarrassed” by the company’s decision to provide AI for classified work.

Mayrhofer acknowledged that his position afforded him a degree of freedom that many of his colleagues did not have. “As a tenured academic in the EU, I realize that I am quite privileged in that my decision to leave was a difficult one because I was balancing the good that I could still do in terms of Android security with being tolerant of the military aspect while not being dependent on the financial side of employment. Many people are not in that situation,” he said.

What happens next: Notice period and a final warning to leadership

Mayrhofer said he would continue his notice period at Google until August, but added that he would “immediately abandon any work on artificial intelligence systems that may fall within the scope of this agreement with the DoW.”

The farewell letter ended with both regret and a direct challenge to the company’s leadership.

“I am deeply saddened that it has come to this, and desperately hope that Google management will rediscover its moral compass,” he wrote. “I’ll miss you all until then.”