How one employee’s exit shook Google and the AI industry
4 years ago

How one employee’s exit shook Google and the AI industry

CNN  

CNN Business — In September, Timnit Gebru, then co-leader of the ethical AI team at Google, sent a private message on Twitter to Emily Bender, a computational linguistics professor at the University of Washington. Timnit Gebru, former co-leader of Google's ethical AI team “Academics should be able to critique these companies without repercussion,” Gebru told CNN Business. “A constant battle from day one” Gebru joined Google in September 2018, at Mitchell’s urging, as the co-leader of the Ethical AI team. Coworkers and others quickly shared support for her online, including Mitchell, who called it a “horrible life-changing loss in a year of horrible life-changing losses.” A Medium post decrying Gebru’s departure and demanding transparency about Google’s decision regarding the research paper quickly gained the signatures of more than 1,300 Google employees and more than 1,600 supporters within the academic and AI fields. But until Google provides some transparency about its research and publication processes, Bender thinks “everything that comes out of Google has a big asterisk next to it.” A recent Reuters report that Google lawyers had edited one of its researchers’ AI papers is also fueling mistrust regarding work that comes out of the company.

Black Employees Google Team Company Language Models Cnn Paper Ai Reuters Twitter Exit Mitchell Dean Epa Hanna Bender Ethical Responsible Ai Gebru Cnn Business Croak Timnit Gebru Margaret Mitchell Including Research Emily Bender  industry  bender  ethical  gebru  paper  employees  shook  ai  company  team  including  research  google  exit

History of this topic

Work 60 hours a week: Google co-founder Sergey Brin to AI employees
Trending News
4 weeks ago

Work 60 hours a week: Google co-founder Sergey Brin to AI employees

India Today  

In an internal message to Google’s DeepMind AI division, the company's co-founder Sergey Brin announced that employees need to improve focus and productivity to stay ahead in the rapidly intensifying race toward Artificial General Intelligence. Addressing the growing competition, Brin urged the AI teams to adopt a 60-hour work week as the "sweet spot" for maximising output, while warning against …

Google and Meta used to champion DEI efforts. Why Big Tech is pulling back
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Google and Meta used to champion DEI efforts. Why Big Tech is pulling back

LA Times  

In 2019, a woman walks below a Google sign on the campus in Mountain View, Calif. More than a decade ago, outcries about the lack of diversity in the tech industry reverberated across major Silicon Valley companies from Facebook to Google. Facing more political pressure and legal risks during President Trump’s second administration, tech companies that previously championed diversity including …

Google appoints former Character.AI founder as co-lead of its AI models
7 months, 1 week ago

Google appoints former Character.AI founder as co-lead of its AI models

The Hindu  

Google has appointed Noam Shazeer, the former head of startup Character.AI and before that a long-time Google researcher, to co-lead its main AI project. Shazeer recently rejoined Google from the chatbot maker he founded in 2021 with the U.S. tech giant paying billions to bring him and a handful of other employees into DeepMind and to strike a licensing agreement …

As Google turns 25, CEO Sundar Pichai pushes for search and AI evolution
1 year, 6 months ago

As Google turns 25, CEO Sundar Pichai pushes for search and AI evolution

The Hindu  

Just as Google prepares to officially turn 25 on September 27, CEO Sundar Pichai affirmed search would continue to be the core of the company’s mission, and that there was much more to be done with it and AI. As Google also races to develop Bard, it has been accused of stealing personal data and creative works from users for …

Google Is Testing A New AI Tool That Could Become Your Personal Mentor
1 year, 7 months ago

Google Is Testing A New AI Tool That Could Become Your Personal Mentor

News 18  

With Google finally catching up to OpenAI’s ChatGPT through Google Bard, after the rival got a head start last year, the search giant is now looking to further expand its generative AI portfolio by launching new AI tools that could offer life advice to users. Google’s AI teams—including Deepmind—are reportedly testing a new AI assistant that can perform “at least …

Meet the Humans Trying to Keep Us Safe From AI
1 year, 9 months ago

Meet the Humans Trying to Keep Us Safe From AI

Wired  

A year ago, the idea of holding a meaningful conversation with a computer was the stuff of science fiction. “It felt like a conversation—me feeding images and ideas to the AI, and the AI offering its own in return.” Rumman Chowdhury PHOTOGRAPH: CHERIL SANCHEZ; AI Art by Sam Cannon Rumman Chowdhury led Twitter’s ethical AI research until Elon Musk acquired …

'Godfather of Artificial Intelligence' Quits Google, Warns About the Dangers of AI
1 year, 10 months ago

'Godfather of Artificial Intelligence' Quits Google, Warns About the Dangers of AI

News 18  

A computer scientist often dubbed “the godfather of artificial intelligence" has quit his job at Google to speak out about the dangers of the technology, US media reported Monday. Geoffrey Hinton, who created a foundation technology for AI systems, told The New York Times that advancements made in the field posed “profound risks to society and humanity". The scientist also …

AI’s Godfather Quits: Google's leading AI expert quits, starts warning about the tech’s future – Firstpost
1 year, 10 months ago

AI’s Godfather Quits: Google's leading AI expert quits, starts warning about the tech’s future – Firstpost

Firstpost  

Geoffrey Hinton, who earned the 2018 Turing Award with two other so-called “Godfathers of AI” for his fundamental work that led to the present boom in artificial intelligence, now claims a part of him regrets his life’s work. How Hinton helped Google develop its AI models Hinton told Google of his departure last month and spoke with CEO Sundar Pichai …

Geoffrey Hinton, 'Godfather of AI', quits Google, to make people aware about dangers of AI
1 year, 10 months ago

Geoffrey Hinton, 'Godfather of AI', quits Google, to make people aware about dangers of AI

India TV News  

A senior Google employee Geoffrey Hinton, also reffered to as the 'Godfather of AI' has left the company to talk about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. Geoffrey Hinton, 75, who has his own contributions in the development of this technology, confirmed the news that he has quit the company to make people aware of the challenges posed by AI, according …

Google, Microsoft top expectations as AI rivalry heats up
1 year, 11 months ago

Google, Microsoft top expectations as AI rivalry heats up

Live Mint  

Google parent company Alphabet beat market expectations in the first quarter of 2023 with a net profit of $15 billion, the company said on Tuesday, in a sign that the search engine behemoth is regaining its footing. "We'll continue to incorporate generative AI advances to make search better in a thoughtful and deliberate way," Google chief Sundar Pichai said during …

Google employee resigns saying company ‘silences Palestinians’
2 years, 7 months ago

Google employee resigns saying company ‘silences Palestinians’

Al Jazeera  

Ariel Koren had spoken out about a $1.2bn collaboration between Google, Amazon and the Israeli military called Project Nimbus. And this is far from an isolated instance.https://t.co/V4y05kOYQv pic.twitter.com/eRMrzTPYfb — Ariel Koren August 30, 2022 The controversy began when Koren protested Google’s $1.2bn collaboration with Amazon and the Israeli military on a programme called Project Nimbus. “Google is aggressively pursuing military …

Google fires software engineer who claimed its AI had become self-aware
2 years, 8 months ago

Google fires software engineer who claimed its AI had become self-aware

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Google has fired a software engineer who claimed its artificial intelligence had become …

LaMDA and the Sentient AI Trap
55 years, 3 months ago

LaMDA and the Sentient AI Trap

Wired  

The focus on sentience also misses the point, says Gebru. “Quite a large gap exists between the current narrative of AI and what it can actually do,” says Giada Pistilli, an ethicist at Hugging Face, a startup focused on language models. “This narrative provokes fear, amazement, and excitement simultaneously, but it is mainly based on lies to sell products and …

Google software engineer claims tech giant’s AI tool has become ‘sentient’
2 years, 9 months ago

Google software engineer claims tech giant’s AI tool has become ‘sentient’

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Google engineer has claimed that an artificial intelligence programme he was working …

Ex-Googler Timnit Gebru Starts Her Own AI Research Center
3 years, 3 months ago

Ex-Googler Timnit Gebru Starts Her Own AI Research Center

Wired  

One year ago Google artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru tweeted, “I was fired” and ignited a controversy over the freedom of employees to question the impact of their company’s technology. Thursday, she launched a new research institute to ask questions about responsible use of artificial intelligence that Gebru says Google and other tech companies won’t. Gebru was ejected from Google …

What Really Happened When Google Ousted Timnit Gebru
3 years, 9 months ago

What Really Happened When Google Ousted Timnit Gebru

Wired  

One afternoon in late November of last year, Timnit Gebru was sitting on the couch in her San Francisco Bay Area home, crying. Kacholia gave Gebru’s manager, Samy Bengio, a document listing the paper’s supposed flaws, but told him not to send it to Gebru, only to read it to her. According to Gebru’s recollection and contemporaneous notes, the document …

Google fires second AI ethics leader as dispute over research, diversity grows
4 years, 1 month ago

Google fires second AI ethics leader as dispute over research, diversity grows

Live Mint  

Alphabet Inc's Google fired staff scientist Margaret Mitchell on Friday, they both said, a move that fanned company divisions on academic freedom and diversity that were on display since its December dismissal of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru. She and Mitchell had called for greater diversity and inclusion among Google's research staff and expressed concern that the company was starting …

Google restructures AI team after researcher’s contentious departure
4 years, 1 month ago

Google restructures AI team after researcher’s contentious departure

The Hindu  

Google is making changes to its artificial intelligence team months after the contentious departure of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru. The California-based firm said in a blog post on Thursday that Marian Croak, who has been a vice president at Google for six years, will lead a new centre of expertise on responsible AI within Google Research. The announcement included …

Google is trying to end the controversy over its Ethical AI team. It’s not going well
4 years, 1 month ago

Google is trying to end the controversy over its Ethical AI team. It’s not going well

CNN  

CNN Business — Hours after Google tried to turn the page on a months-long controversy over the abrupt departure of one leader of its Ethical AI team, the other leader said she was fired. In a tweet Friday afternoon, Margaret Mitchell wrote, “I’m fired.” Mitchell, a Google researcher who founded the company’s Ethical AI team, was put on administrative leave …

Google reshuffles AI team leadership after researcher’s controversial departure
4 years, 1 month ago

Google reshuffles AI team leadership after researcher’s controversial departure

CNN  

CNN Business — Google is making changes to the leadership of its responsible artificial intelligence efforts months after the contentious departure of prominent Black artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru rattled the company. The tech giant said in a blog post Thursday that Marian Croak, a Black woman who has been a vice president at the company for six years working …

Two Google engineers resign over firing of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru
4 years, 1 month ago

Two Google engineers resign over firing of AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru

The Hindu  

An engineering director and a software developer have quit Alphabet Inc's Google over the dismissal of AI researcher Timnit Gebru, a sign of the ongoing conflicts at the search giant over diversity and ethics. David Baker, a director focused on user safety, left Google last month after 16 years because Gebru's exit "extinguished my desire to continue as a Googler," …

Two Google employees quit over AI researcher Timnit Gebru’s exit
4 years, 1 month ago

Two Google employees quit over AI researcher Timnit Gebru’s exit

CNN  

CNN Business — Two Google engineers have resigned from the tech giant, citing the departure late last year of prominent Black artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru. Gebru’s departure, Baker wrote, “extinguished my desire to continue as a Googler.” Similarly, Vinesh Kannan, a software engineer, posted on TwitterWednesday that he left Google this month “because of Google’s mistreatment” of Gebru and …

Google investigates ethical AI team member over handling of sensitive data
4 years, 2 months ago

Google investigates ethical AI team member over handling of sensitive data

The Hindu  

Alphabet Inc's Google is investigating a member of its ethical AI team and has locked the corporate account linked to that person after finding that thousands of files were retrieved from its server and shared with external accounts, the company said on Wednesday. Axios, which first reported the latest investigation around a member of Google's AI team, said Margaret Mitchell …

Google workers ask top management to reinstate AI researcher Timnit Gebru at a higher position
4 years, 3 months ago

Google workers ask top management to reinstate AI researcher Timnit Gebru at a higher position

India Today  

Google’s AI ethics team, in a letter to the company’s top management has put forth demands to bring back AI researcher Timnit Gebru at a higher position. The letter was also addressed to Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, who earlier this week said that he would review the exit of Gebru after an outrage among the employees. Alex Hanna, a senior …

Timnit Gebru: Tensions in Google’s ethical AI group increase as it sends demands to Sundar Pichai
4 years, 3 months ago

Timnit Gebru: Tensions in Google’s ethical AI group increase as it sends demands to Sundar Pichai

CNN  

CNN Business — Tension between Google’s Ethical AI group and executives at the company rose on Wednesday, as employees sent a list of demands regarding the recent departure of one of the team’s leaders — a prominent Black woman in a field that’s largely White and male. On Wednesday, December 2, Gebru tweeted that she had been “immediately fired” for …

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says that he will review the exit of top AI researcher
4 years, 3 months ago

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says that he will review the exit of top AI researcher

India Today  

Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a letter to his employees has addressed the recent exit of Dr Timnit Gebru, a technical co-lead of Google's ethical-artificial-intelligence team, and noted that he will review her exit. "We need to accept responsibility for the fact that a prominent Black, female leader with immense talent left Google unhappily," Pichai noted. "Dr Gebru did not …

Timnit Gebru: Google to examine the departure of a leading AI ethics researcher
4 years, 3 months ago

Timnit Gebru: Google to examine the departure of a leading AI ethics researcher

CNN  

CNN Business — Google says it will examine the departure of a prominent Black female researcher in the field of ethics in artificial intelligence, whose recent, sudden exit has angered thousands of the company’s employees and others in the tech and academic communities. In a memo sent Wednesday to Google employees, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company needs to “assess …

Google CEO Apologizes, Vows To Restore Trust After Black Scientist's Ouster
4 years, 3 months ago

Google CEO Apologizes, Vows To Restore Trust After Black Scientist's Ouster

NPR  

Google CEO Apologizes, Vows To Restore Trust After Black Scientist's Ouster Enlarge this image toggle caption LM Otero/AP LM Otero/AP Google's chief executive Sundar Pichai on Wednesday apologized in the aftermath of the dismissal of a prominent Black scientist whose ouster set off widespread condemnation from thousands of Google employees and outside researchers. Sponsor Message Since Gebru was pushed out, …

Behind the Paper That Led to a Google Researcher’s Firing
55 years, 3 months ago

Behind the Paper That Led to a Google Researcher’s Firing

Wired  

Earlier this year, Google artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru sent a Twitter message to University of Washington professor Emily Bender. Google’s head of AI said the work “didn’t meet our bar for publication.” Since then, more than 2,200 Google employees have signed a letter demanding more transparency into the company’s handling of the draft. Saturday, Gebru’s manager, Google AI researcher …

Google staff accuse company of 'racism and censorship' in dispute over ethics researcher Timnit Gebru
4 years, 3 months ago

Google staff accuse company of 'racism and censorship' in dispute over ethics researcher Timnit Gebru

ABC  

More than 1,200 Google employees have signed an open letter in support of an ousted Ethiopian-born artificial intelligence scholar who pioneered research in racial bias in facial recognition technology. Key points: Dr Gebru is known for her work identifying racial bias in facial recognition software She was reportedly ousted for authoring a research paper that criticised Google technology Observers say …

Google AI researcher's exit sparks ethics, bias concerns
4 years, 3 months ago

Google AI researcher's exit sparks ethics, bias concerns

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Prominent artificial intelligence scholar Timnit Gebru helped improve …

Google AI researcher’s exit sparks ethics, bias concerns
4 years, 3 months ago

Google AI researcher’s exit sparks ethics, bias concerns

Associated Press  

Prominent artificial intelligence scholar Timnit Gebru helped improve Google’s public image as a company that elevates Black computer scientists and questions harmful uses of AI technology. Dean, in an email to employees, said the company accepted “her decision to resign from Google” because she told managers she’d leave if her demands about the study were not met. “Ousting Timnit for …

Top AI ethics researcher says Google fired her; company denies it
4 years, 3 months ago

Top AI ethics researcher says Google fired her; company denies it

The Hindu  

A top Google scientist on ethical artificial intelligence says she was fired after criticizing the company's diversity efforts, a claim the Alphabet Inc unit disputed on Thursday, in the latest brush-up between the internet giant and worker activists. Timnit Gebru, who is Black, said on Twitter she was fired on Wednesday after sending an email to colleagues expressing frustration over …

Google widely criticized after parting ways with Timnit Gebru, a leading voice in AI ethics
4 years, 3 months ago

Google widely criticized after parting ways with Timnit Gebru, a leading voice in AI ethics

CNN  

CNN Business — Many Google employees and others in the tech and academic communities are furious over the sudden exit from Google of a pioneer in the study of ethics in artificial intelligence—a departure they see as a failure by an industry titan to foster an environment supportive of diversity. The research paper in question Gebru, who joined Google in …

Google AI ethic co-lead Gebru says company cut her off from systems without warning
4 years, 3 months ago

Google AI ethic co-lead Gebru says company cut her off from systems without warning

India Today  

A top Google scientist on ethical artificial intelligence says she was fired after criticizing the company’s diversity efforts, a claim the Alphabet Inc unit disputed on Thursday, in the latest brush-up between the internet giant and worker activists. Timnit Gebru, who is Black, said on Twitter she was fired on Wednesday after sending an email to colleagues expressing frustration over …

Google Employees Who Organized Mass Walkout Say They're Being Retaliated Against
5 years, 11 months ago

Google Employees Who Organized Mass Walkout Say They're Being Retaliated Against

Huff Post  

Hi all, This was a hard email to write. We are among them and here is what’s happening to us: Meredith Just after Google announced that it would disband its AI ethics council, I was informed my role would be changed dramatically. My manager started ignoring me, my work was given to other people, and I was told to go …

Google employees who organised walkout are facing demotions and sudden change of roles
5 years, 11 months ago

Google employees who organised walkout are facing demotions and sudden change of roles

Firstpost  

“Google has a culture of retaliation, which too often works to silence women, people of colour and gender minorities” Google employees are known to protest against their parent company, and we have seen instances of that happening when it emerged that Google was helping the military use it AI technology. Later in November last year, we saw around 1,500 employees …

Google scraps controversial AI ethics council
5 years, 11 months ago

Google scraps controversial AI ethics council

CNN  

San Francisco CNN Business — Google has shuttered its new artificial intelligence ethics council, a little more than a week after announcing it and days after a swarm of employees demanded the removal of the president of a conservative think tank from the group. In a statement Thursday, Google told CNN Business that it has “become clear that in the …

Google employees demand removal of conservative member from AI-ethics council
6 years ago

Google employees demand removal of conservative member from AI-ethics council

CNN  

San Francisco CNN Business — Hundreds of Google employees are demanding the company remove the president of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation from a newly formed council meant to advise the company on the responsible usage of artificial intelligence. A group of employees calling itself Googlers Against Transphobia said in a post to the website Medium on Monday that …

Google Won't Renew Controversial Pentagon AI Project
55 years, 3 months ago

Google Won't Renew Controversial Pentagon AI Project

Wired  

The backlash to Google’s work on a US military artificial-intelligence project began inside the tech giant, but in recent weeks, it has spilled into the public. As employees resigned in protest over Google’s work with Project Maven, which uses AI to identify potential drone targets in satellite images, reports revealed top executives fretting over how it will be perceived by …

Google employees quit as company continues to work on AI drone project with US Department of Defense: Report
6 years, 10 months ago

Google employees quit as company continues to work on AI drone project with US Department of Defense: Report

Firstpost  

The resignations were followed by close to 4,000 workers demanding an end to the Google’s participation in Project Maven in a petition. As many as a dozen employees have apparently quit Google over the company’s involvement in developing a drone software with the US Department of Defense, an undertaking named Project Maven. Back in April, as many as 3,100 Google …

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