Q&A with ex-Google AI ethics co-lead Timnit Gebru, who says Sundar Pichai's “de-escalation strategies” language in his memo paints her as an “angry Black woman”
VentureBeat Khari Johnson
Discussion
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@timnitgebru
Timnit Gebru
on x
Finally it does not say “I'm sorry for what we did to her and it was wrong.” What it DOES say is “it seeded doubts and led some in our community to question their place at Google.” So I see this as “I'm sorry for how it played out but I'm not sorry for what we did to her yet.” 4\
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@adrs
Arielle Duhaime-Ross
on x
“They paint me as this angry Black woman because they put you in this terrible workplace, and if you speak up about it, then you become a problem, and then they start talking about de-escalation strategies.” https://venturebeat.com/...
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@histoftech
Mar Hicks
on x
“This is why it's important to think about what scientific education is doing to us, whose paradigm they're teaching us & why the only option we're given is to assimilate into this racist and sexist structure.” Must-read interview w/ @timnitGebru https://venturebeat.com/...
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@nash12
Nash
on x
Dr. Gebru over here giving free lessons on the wrong ways for leadership to respond to discrimination and bias in their organization. https://twitter.com/...
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@kpixtv
@kpixtv
on x
PICHAI'S APOLOGY @Google CEO @sundarpichai apologized for how a prominent AI researcher's abrupt departure last week has “seeded doubts” in the company. https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/ ...
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@timnitgebru
Timnit Gebru
on x
“...from de-escalation strategies...” De-escalation—>Replace that with leadership accountability. This statement implies that I was out of line and that their failure was NOT discriminating OR retaliating against me, NOR having me face a hostile work environment daily. 2\
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@timnitgebru
Timnit Gebru
on x
Nope. Take a look at @shaft's thread here outlining similar strategies for those who are “troublemakers.” https://twitter.com/... Take responsibility for your toxic leaders, HR, Legal and other entities who harass and discriminate against people like me and protect toxicity. 3\
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@lemire
Daniel Lemire
on x
No matter how you look at it, the Timnit Grebru controversy makes Google look bad. https://www.theverge.com/...
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@sidneyfussell
Sid Thee Fussell
on x
“You write emails, they get ignored. You write documents, and they get ignored. Then you discuss how it's being done and then they talk about you as if you're like some angry Black woman who needs to be contained.” https://twitter.com/...
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@jonst0kes
@jonst0kes
on x
All of the criticism are around the professional norms I mentioned earlier, i.e. the fact that she only tolerates enthusiastic support for her words from her white and/or male colleagues — disagreement is taken as harm, & (fearful) silence is considered erasure.
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@jonst0kes
@jonst0kes
on x
You'd think that as a reporter, you'd smell a major story in the fact that there is an entire chunk of the AI field that's taking to DMs & reddit burner accounts to air even mild criticisms of the behavior of Gebru, her team, & her allies, b/c they fear for their careers. 🤔
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@timnitgebru
Timnit Gebru
on x
Don't paint me as an “angry Black woman” for whom you need “de-escalation strategies” for. This thread is just the beginning of the toxicity I dealt with since before I even joined Google and I haven't said anything specific yet. 1\ https://twitter.com/...