Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Company Will Review AI Scholar Timnit Gebru's Abrupt Exit

Pichai told Google employees that the tech company is beginning a review of the circumstances leading up to Gebru's exit.

By Associated Press | Updated: 10 December 2020 11:29 IST

Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Company Will Review AI Scholar Timnit Gebru's Abrupt Exit

Gebru criticised Pichai's memo Wednesday on Twitter, saying she saw “no plans for accountability” in it

Highlights

Gebru is a top scholar in the field of AI ethics
Gebru was fired with a message that Google couldn’t meet her demands
Gebru has been an outspoken critic of lack of diversity at tech companies

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has apologised for how a prominent artificial intelligence researcher's abrupt departure last week has “seeded doubts” in the company.

Pichai told Google employees in a Wednesday memo obtained by Axios that the tech company is beginning a review of the circumstances leading up to Black computer scientist Timnit Gebru's exit and how Google could have “led a more respectful process.”

Gebru, a top scholar in the field of AI ethics, said she was fired last week. Google has referred to it as a resignation.

Google’s Co-Head of Ethical AI Timnit Gebru Says She Was Fired for Email

Pichai's note doesn't call it either a firing or a resignation but says "we need to accept responsibility for the fact that a prominent Black, female leader with immense talent left Google unhappily."

The dispute centered around Google's push to disassociate itself from a research paper Gebru co-authored examining the societal dangers of an AI technology used by Google.

Gebru criticised Pichai's memo Wednesday on Twitter, saying she saw “no plans for accountability” in it and because it offered no apology for what happened to her.

Google AI Researcher Timnit Gebru’s Exit Sparks Ethics, Bias Concerns

I see no plans for accountability and there was further gaslighting in the statement. https://t.co/Q8MAYSJwdU
— Timnit Gebru (@timnitGebru) December 9, 2020

Thousands of people, many of them Google employees, have signed an open letter showing support for Gebru and accusing Google of “unprecedented research censorship,” racism and defensiveness.

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