Google chief executive Sundar Pichai apologised to employees on Wednesday and launched an investigation into how the company handled the departure of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru.
“I’ve heard the reaction to Dr Gebru’s departure loud and clear,” Mr Pichai said in a staff-wide email sent Wednesday that was reviewed by Bloomberg. “It seeded doubts and led some in our community to question their place at Google. I want to say how sorry I am for that, and I accept the responsibility of working to restore your trust.”
Ms Gebru, a prominent artificial intelligence researcher best-known for showing how facial recognition algorithms are better at identifying White faces than Black and Brown ones, said she was fired last week after a dispute over an academic paper she co-authored calling out ethical issues related to technology that underpins important products like Google Search.
Mr Pichai’s involvement shows how quickly the episode has spiralled out of control for Jeff Dean, Google’s head of AI and one of the chief executive’s top deputies. The visceral reaction to Ms Gebru’s departure – and Mr Dean’s initial response to it – suggests discontent with management at one of the company’s most prized units.
The Alphabet-owned company has launched an internal review into how her departure was handled and the impact the incident has had on employees, especially those from under-represented minorities, the chief executive wrote.
“We need to accept responsibility of the fact that a prominent Black, female leader with immense talent left Google unhappily,” Mr Pichai said. “This loss has had a ripple effect through some of our least represented communities, who saw themselves and some of their experiences reflected in Dr Gebru’s.”
The researcher wrote on Twitter that the chief executive’s email didn’t go far enough.
The episode began when Google asked Ms Gebru to retract the research paper, or at least remove the names of the Google employees involved, she said in a subsequent interview with Bloomberg. Ms Gebru pushed back against the request.
Meanwhile, she cited the experience in an email group of company researchers and urged others to give up on a diversity report they were working on. “It doesn’t make a difference,” Ms Gebru wrote in the email, which was obtained by Bloomberg. “There is no way more documents or more conversations will achieve anything.”
The incident spilled on to social media, spurring a petition signed by hundreds of current and former employees of Google, who said the real reason for her dismissal was her outspoken criticism of Google's progress on improving conditions for people of colour at the company.
The chief executive’s message came after a heated meeting Tuesday with members of the Black Googler Network that left attendees questioning their trust in Google and their support of its AI work, according to screen shots of a moderated Q&A session that followed.
While Mr Dean and Megan Kacholia, the vice president who notified Ms Gebru of her termination, addressed the group, they didn’t take questions from attendees. Instead, they had a separate moderator field queries after they left, which angered some employees, many of whom spoke about quitting, according to one person familiar with the events. Other employees called the meeting “tone deaf” and questioned Google’s insistence to try to “sweep this wrongdoing under the rug,” according to messages reviewed by Bloomberg.
“We say we are committed to doing the right thing,” wrote one Black Googler who submitted a query during the session. “The right thing is to acknowledge that what happened to Timnit wasn’t right. I haven’t seen any of the Brain leadership acknowledge this. Without this it is hard for me as Black woman to trust Google.”
One questioner said Mr Dean and Ms Kacholia’s meeting seemed like a “form of gas-lighting” and asked what attendees were supposed to gain from it. Another asked leadership to “give one reason why I as a Black Googler in AI should support Google’s AI Fairness effort after Timnit’s disrespectful treatment.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
MAIN CARD
Bantamweight 56.4kg
Abrorbek Madiminbekov v Mehdi El Jamari
Super heavyweight 94 kg
Adnan Mohammad v Mohammed Ajaraam
Lightweight 60kg
Zakaria Eljamari v Faridoon Alik Zai
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Mahmood Amin v Taha Marrouni
Light welterweight 64.5kg
Siyovush Gulmamadov v Nouredine Samir
Light heavyweight 81.4kg
Ilyass Habibali v Haroun Baka
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
Read more about the coronavirus
Look%20Both%20Ways
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Wanuri%20Kahiu%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Lili%20Reinhart%2C%20Danny%20Ramirez%2C%20David%20Corenswet%2C%20Luke%20Wilson%2C%20Nia%20Long%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The UAE's journey to space
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECVT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E119bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E145Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh%2C89%2C900%20(%2424%2C230)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Co%20Chocolat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Iman%20and%20Luchie%20Suguitan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fahad%20bin%20Juma%2C%20self-funding%2C%20family%20and%20friends%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
