US Advanced Weapons Suppliers Under Fire as Employees Rally to Speak Out

Jakarta – CNBC Indonesia reports that a number of employees at major technology companies, including Google, OpenAI and peers, issued an open letter titled ‘We Will Not Be Divided’. The letter aims to halt their employers’ involvement with the United States military.

The open letter followed US and Israel’s weekend attack on Iran. The Pentagon also blacklisted the AI model Anthropic for refusing to allow its AI tools to be used to create autonomous weapons and to spy on the American public.

Almost 900 signatures were gathered for the letter, about 100 from OpenAI and nearly 800 from Google. The letter was shown to the Department of Defence (DoD). They align with Anthropic in refusing to permit their technology to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.

‘They are trying to divide each company because they fear other companies will give up,’ the letter quoted CNBC International, on Wednesday (4 March 2026).

‘The strategy would only work when we do not know the position of other companies. This letter aims to foster shared understanding and solidarity in facing the Defence Department,’ the letter states.

This reaction also stems from tensions in the tech sector in recent months, including an escalation in aggressive actions by federal immigration agents, particularly in the killing of two US citizens in Minnesota earlier this year.

According to Google, negative reactions also emerged amid reports of negotiations with the Pentagon. Talks about including AI Gemini in a secret system.

The No Tech for Apartheid coalition, which criticises the US government’s cloud computing deals with the tech giants, issued a joint statement titled ‘Amazon, Google, Microsoft Must Refuse Pentagon Demands’.

The group urged the three tech giants to reject the Defence Department’s demands for mass surveillance or other misuses of AI. They also called for clarity regarding military contracts and agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They also referenced an agreement with the government akin to Grok from xAI, which is located in a secret environment without any safeguards.

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