Home
Internet
Internet News
Google Investigates Another Ethical AI Team Member Over Handling of Sensitive Data Following Timbit Gebru Exit

Google Investigates Another Ethical AI Team Member Over Handling of Sensitive Data Following Timbit Gebru Exit

AI team member Margaret Mitchell had reportedly been looking through her messages to find examples showing discriminatory treatment of Gebru.

By Reuters | Updated: 20 January 2021 15:30 IST

Google Investigates Another Ethical AI Team Member Over Handling of Sensitive Data Following Timbit Gebru Exit

Google's diversity efforts have been questioned by employees and adds to years of angst

Click Here to Add Gadgets360 As A Trusted Source

Highlights

Timnit Gebru, a former employee in the Google AI team was fired
Gebru, who is Black, was a top AI ethics researcher
Gebru claimed she was sacked for criticising the diversity efforts

Alphabet'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 had been using automated scripts to look through her messages to find examples showing discriminatory treatment of Timnit Gebru, a former employee in the AI team who was fired.

Google Discussion

Explore More...

Gebru, who is Black, was a top AI ethics researcher at Google and was fired in December. While Gebru claimed she was sacked for criticising the diversity efforts within Google's AI unit, the company has disputed it.

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

"Our security systems automatically lock an employee's corporate account when they detect that the account is at risk of compromise due to credential problems or when an automated rule involving the handling of sensitive data has been triggered," a Google representative said in a statement.

"We are actively investigating this matter as part of standard procedures to gather additional details."

Mitchell did not immediately respond to a request for comment via her LinkedIn account.

Google AI Researchers Lay Out Demands, Escalating Internal Fight

Google's diversity efforts have been questioned by employees and adds to years of angst, including several resignations and firings in the AI department, raising doubts whether the company's efforts to minimise the potential harms of its services are sufficient.

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Google Told Scientists to ‘Strike a Positive Tone’ in AI Research Papers

Does WhatsApp's new privacy policy spell the end for your privacy? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.