Marian Croak, a long-time Google employee who is black, was tapped to lead ethical AI work throughout Google’s research organization, Bloomberg News reported. The saga started when Google demanded that Gebru retract a paper she co-authored that scrutinized inherent racial bias in artificial intelligence.
Margaret Mitchell Fired
Gebru’s team disagreed and she told management she would resign from her position if certain conditions were not met, and work on a transition plan for her replacement. Google immediately fired her while she was on vacation in December, provoking some engineers to quit in protest. Mitchell was locked out of her corporate email account until she was fired on Friday.
Gebru claimed she was sacked for criticizing the diversity efforts within Google’s AI unit.
‘I understand we could have and should have handled this situation with more sensitivity. And for that, I am sorry,’ Google AI head Jeff Dean said on Friday.
He added: ‘I heard and acknowledge what Dr. Gebru’s exit signified to female technologists, to those in the Black community and other underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in tech, and to many who care deeply about Google’s responsible use of AI. It led some to question their place here, which I regret.’
Margaret Mitchell Twitter
Mitchell said on Twitter that the firing of Gebru ‘created a domino effect of trauma’ for her and the rest of the team, which she co-led with Gebru.
‘The firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru is not okay, and the way it was done is not okay,’ Mitchell said in a statement published online.
‘It appears to stem from the same lack of foresight that is at the core of modern technology, and so itself serves as an example of the problem.’
Mitchell wrote that the firing was ‘fueled by the same underpinnings of racism and sexism that our AI systems when in the wrong hands, tend to soak up.’
‘Every moment where Jeff Dean and Megan Kacholia do not take responsibility for their actions is another moment where the company as a whole stands by silently as if to intentionally send the horrifying message that Dr. Gebru deserves to be treated this way,’ the statement reads.
Margaret Mitchell Google Apology
Mitchell went as far as to demand an apology from the company for the firing of Gebru, claiming the company treated her ‘with intense disrespect.’ Other computer science researchers took to Twitter to voice their frustration over the firings of Gebru and Mitchell on Friday.
‘Google is a breeding ground to abusers, opportunity hoarders, and people only concerned with ego and prestige,’ wrote sociologist Alex Hanna, a member of the company’s ethical AI team.
Gebru also took to Twitter to comment on Mitchell’s firing, noting she had been sacked by an email to her personal email account.
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