Two Google Engineers Resign Over Firing of AI Ethics Researcher Timnit Gebru

The resignations come as workers have demanded commitments to academic freedom and management change in Google's research organisation.

By Reuters | Updated: 4 February 2021 10:25 IST

Two Google Engineers Resign Over Firing of AI Ethics Researcher Timnit Gebru

Google declined to comment, but pointed to statements that it is looking to restore employees' trust

Highlights

Resignations come as workers demand commitments to academic freedom
More than 800 people joined a union announced last month
Google had told some staff not to cast its technology in a negative light

An engineering director and a software developer have quit Alphabet'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," he said in a letter seen by Reuters. Baker added, "We cannot say we believe in diversity, and then ignore the conspicuous absence of many voices from within our walls."

Software engineer Vinesh Kannan said Wednesday on Twitter that he had left the company on Tuesday because Google mistreated Gebru and April Christina Curley, a recruiter who has said she was wrongly fired last year. Both Gebru and Curley identify as Black.

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"They were wronged," Kannan said.

Yesterday was my last day at Google. I left because Google's mistreatment of @timnitGebru and @RealAbril crossed a personal red line I wrote down when I started the job. I know I gained a lot from Google, but I also gained a lot from both of their work, and they were wronged.
— Vinesh Kannan (@vineshgkannan) February 3, 2021

Google declined to comment, but pointed to previous statements that it is looking to restore employees' trust after Gebru's departure and that it disputes Curley's accusation.

The resignations come as workers have demanded commitments to academic freedom and management change in Google's research organisation. More than 800 people joined a union announced last month to advance workplace protections, and more than 2,600 of its 135,000 employees signed a December letter supporting Gebru.

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Baker, whose resignation letter was shared with an internal affinity group for Black employees, told Reuters he stood by his remarks.

Kannan did not have an immediate comment.

Gebru, who co-led a team on AI ethics, says she pushed back on orders to pull research that speech technology like Google's could disadvantage marginalised groups. Reuters reported in December that Google had told some staff not to cast its technology in a negative light.

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