Google Employees Say Scientist’s Ouster Was ‘Unprecedented Research Censorship’

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Former Google AI Research Scientist Timnit Gebru speaks here in September 2018. Gebru says she was abruptly fired from the tech giant after a dispute involving a research paper.





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«Ousting Timnit for having the audacity to demand intellectual integrity severely undermines Google’s credibility for supporting rigorous research on AI ethics and algorithmic auditing, Buolamwini said. «She deserves more than Google knew how to give, and now she is an all-star free agent who will continue to transform the tech industry.

In July, Buolamwini and Gebru’s research played a prominent role in Amazon, IBM and Microsoft pulling back on providing the technology to law enforcement agencies during the national protests over the death of George Floyd.

Ifeoma Ozoma, a former Pinterest executive who left the company after voicing concern over the treatment of Black employees, said in an interview with NPR that she believed Google would not have let go a white male employee for similar behavior.

«She was fired because of who she is and not because of what she did, said Ozoma, who also used to work at Google.

Gebru’s ouster, which she first tweeted about on Wednesday night, came the same day the National Labor Relations Board said Google had illegally fired two employees who were involving in labor organizing last year. The federal agency also found that Google had illegally spied on employees who viewed a union organizing presentation.



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Ozoma, who is a friend of Gebru, says Google has shown a pattern regarding employees who agitate for change inside the company.

«Google is doing this over and over again and seems to not care at all and seems to believe they can get away with it, she said.

In their open letter, the Google employees ask that senior leadership meet with the artificial intelligence team Gebru helped lead to explain how and why the paper Gebru co-authored was «unilaterally rejected by management at the company.

Letting Gebru go could make Google’s workplace less welcome to Black researchers and other employees of color, the letter signatories wrote.

«The termination is an act of retaliation against Dr. Gebru, and it heralds danger for people working for ethical and just AI — especially Black people and People of Color — across Google.

Editor’s note: Google is among NPR’s financial supporters.