Founder of Google’s AI Unit Fired After an Investigation
Dr. Margaret Mitchell, Co-Founder and Head of Google’s AI Unit has been fired by Google.
In a statement, Google said an investigation found that Margaret Mitchell had moved files outside the company.
She revealed the news in a tweet that said “I’m fired” on Friday, February 19, 2021.
Early before that, she had commented on an unfair dismissal of a colleague from the company, explaining that it was discrimination and sexist.
She also tweeted a farewell message following her dismissal as head of the Google AI Unit.
Dr. Mitchell was a fierce critic of Google and had expressed concern about Dr. Gebru’s departure from the company.
Dr. Gebru, a leading Artificial Intelligence ethics researcher, says she was fired late last year after sending an internal email that accused Google of “silencing marginalized voices”. However, Google claims she left the company.
She co-authored a research paper which she says she was asked to retract. The paper had pinpointed flaws in AI language technology, including a system built by Google.
Following a meeting on the paper, she sent an email to an internal group called “Brain Women and Allies”, criticizing the decision.
Dr. Gebru had emailed her management laying out some key conditions for removing her name from the paper, and if they were not met, she would “work on the last date” for her employment.
According to Dr. Gebru, Google replied: “We respect your decision to leave Google… and we are accepting your resignation.”
The fallout caused many within the scientific community to question the ethics of conducting research with big technology companies.
Hundreds of colleagues signed a letter in support of her. In response, the company’s chief executive Sundar Pichai apologized for the way she left the firm.
Google has been criticized for a lack of diversity in its workforce, and there are concerns about the AI technology that underpins many of its services.
