Google promises not to build more custom AI solutions to aid fossil fuel extraction

Google has said the company will stop creating custom AI solution to aid oil companies to extract fossil fuels. The decision comes after a Greenpeace report called out big tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon for aid oil companies extract fossil fuels.

The Greenpeace report on Big Tech’s Big Oil exposed 14 contracts that Google, Microsoft and Amazon had with different oil companies. The organization called tech companies to end these relationships and Google was the first to answer that call. However, the decision applies to the new contacts and Google plans to honour the existing contacts. Moreover, Google also noted that oil companies will be allowed to use its cloud computing for data storage and general IT operations.

While Google still has a few legacy contracts with oil and gas firms, we welcome this indication from Google that it will no longer build custom solutions for upstream oil and gas extraction.

– Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA

Dropping oil companies would be pretty easy for Google as the company made just $65 million from oil and gas companies which was less than 1% of the company’s total revenue from cloud services. Greenpeace further noted that Microsoft and Amazon hold far more contacts than Google. It said, “Microsoft appears to be leading the way with the most oil and contracts, offering AI capabilities in all phases of oil production.”