The newly-launched independent council was meant to help guide the ethics of Google’s AI projects. But the blowback shows just how fraught—and politicized— AI is becoming, writes Will Knight.
What’s happening: Almost a thousand Google staff and other workers in tech have signed a letter protesting the makeup of the council. One member of the council has also declined an invitation to take up the role.
Specifically: They’re worried about two members. One is Dyan Gibbens, CEO of Trumbull, a company that develops autonomous weapons system. But they're particularly unhappy at the inclusion of Kay Coles James, president of the Heritage Foundation, a thinktank which opposes regulating carbon emissions and takes a hard line on immigration. There has also been criticism at the board’s lack of any civil rights activist who has expertise in the ways that AI can neglect or harm minorities.
See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613253/googles-ai-council-faces-blowback-over-a-conservative-member