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. But internally, Gebru, a leader in the field of AI ethics, was not shy about voicing doubts about those commitments. That’s until she was ousted this week in a dispute over a research paper examining the societal dangers of an emerging branch of AI. The furor over Gebru’s abrupt departure is the latest incident raising questions about whether Google has strayed so far away from its original “Don’t Be Evil” motto that it now routinely ousts employees who challenge management.
By MATT O'BRIEN
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US joins G7 artificial intelligence group to counter China
The U.S. has joined an international panel for setting ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence, after the Trump administration had earlier dismissed the idea. The White House’s chief technology officer, Michael Kratsios, told The Associated Press on Thursday it is important to establish shared democratic principles as a counter to China’s record of “twisting technology” in ways that threaten civil liberties. The Trump administration had been the lone holdout among leaders of the Group of Seven — the world’s wealthiest democracies — in setting up the Global Partnership on AI.
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Microsoft divests from Israeli facial-recognition startup
Microsoft says it is pulling its investments from a controversial facial-recognition startup that scans faces at Israeli military checkpoints. But Microsoft says there’s no evidence that Israeli firm AnyVision’s technology was used unethically. Microsoft last year had hired a team of lawyers led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to audit AnyVision and Microsoft’s investments into the startup. The audit’s findings announced Friday didn’t substantiate claims the technology violated Microsoft’s ethical principles against using artificial intelligence for mass surveillance. But Microsoft says it is still divesting in the firm and other sensitive technology because it lacks sufficient oversight of the company.
