Reactions continue over the "Project Nimbus" agreement between Google and Israel

Experts speaking to the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel shared their concerns regarding the $1.2 billion project, known as "Project Nimbus," which Israel signed with Google and Amazon in April 2021.

Experts drew attention to the potential dangers of Israel having access to "Project Nimbus," a cloud and machine learning system that enables data storage, collection, analysis, pattern and feature identification from data, and the prediction of potential data and patterns using this collected information.

Damini Satija, interim director of the Amnesty Tech group, argued that Israel already possesses large-scale surveillance technology, that the project provides Israel with advanced technology, and that its use could further accelerate existing human rights violations.

Satija argued that the project could offer Israel a tool it can adapt to its own needs, which would promote "apartheid," a system of oppression, domination, and segregation against the Palestinian people.

'THEY DO NOT KNOW THEY ARE INVOLVED IN PROJECT NIMBUS'

Zelda Montes, a software engineer working at YouTube, stated that Google did not consult its employees regarding the project, saying, "Many employees don't even know they are part of this contract. There are about 180,000 employees at Google, but only a very small fraction of these people know that there is such a contract with the Israeli government."

Pointing out that information is limited due to the "confidentiality" of the project, Montes said, "We believe our labor should not be used in ways we are unaware of."

Montes also spoke about her discomfort regarding their involvement in the agreement with Israel:

"I think it is very irresponsible to try to portray a contract that is political by nature as if it were neutral, because you are signing a contract with a government, and that is a political act. Why are we signing any contract with the Israeli government, which is currently being investigated by the highest court in the world?"

WHAT IS PROJECT NIMBUS?

Project Nimbus consists of a cloud and machine learning system that enables data storage, collection, analysis, pattern and feature identification from data, and the prediction of potential data and patterns using this collected information.

The contract for the $1.2 billion project, called Project Nimbus, was signed between Israel and the companies Google and Amazon in April 2021.

In a statement regarding the agreement on April 21, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Finance announced that Google and Amazon had won Project Nimbus, a massive government tender that would enable Israel to establish its own local cloud storage server centers with an investment of approximately $1.2 billion.

The system in question has the capability to collect all data from all databases and resources provided by Israel and its military, and even from live observation sources such as street and drone cameras.

News Source: AA