Internal memo: Google's AI Chief Jeff Dean apologized after Timnit Gebru's exit, saying his team should have managed the situation “with more sensitivity”
even worse, way worse than the rest of the company. Hopefully no one will ask why. https://twitter.com/... Avi Asher-Schapiro / @aaschapiro : Here's a sentence: “Google told employees Friday it has wrapped up its investigation into the ouster of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru. The company declined to say what the internal inquiry found....” https://www.axios.com/... Steve Canon / @stephentyrone : Leaving aside the main issue, this whole affair is so utterly bizarre from a corporate communications perspective. What is Google trying to accomplish? Do they even know? https://twitter.com/... Daniel Lowd / @dlowd : TL;DR: Jeff Dean is sorry you feel that way. https://twitter.com/... Shana V. White / @shanavwhite : Hey #CSed we still need to be in the loop on this.....continue to pay attention. https://twitter.com/... @axios : Google told employees today it has wrapped up its investigation into the ouster of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru. The company said it is making some changes to how it handles issues around research, diversity and employee exits. https://www.axios.com/... Ina Fried / @inafried : .@timnitGebru responding to Google concluding it's investigation. https://twitter.com/... Shannon Vallor / @shannonvallor : These changes— like tying exec pay to meeting DI objectives, or staffing for retention — would never have occurred without someone like Timnit pushing as hard as she pushed. But who gets credit for these improvements? Not her, she gets fired. For the pushing. https://twitter.com/... Ina Fried / @inafried : Between the lines: None of these moves seem likely to quell the continued frustration over this matter, especially within Google's Ethical AI team, members of whom says they continue to be blindsided by the company's moves. https://www.axios.com/... Ina Fried / @inafried : Changes: tying exec pay companywide to diversity and inclusion goals, streamlining of research publishing practices, more investments in retention and HR people to handle controversial exits. https://www.axios.com/...
AxiosIna Fried
Context & Ripple Effects
Gebru said she had been fired from Google’s Ethical AI group after an email to colleagues, bringing her experience as a Black leader at the company into the dispute. Google had already issued Pichai’s apology and promise of an investigation over how her departure was handled.
Dean’s apology follows Google’s statement that the inquiry is complete, though the company will not disclose its findings. The episode turns a personnel dispute into a test of whether Ethical AI research has meaningful internal independence and escalation channels.
First-order effects
Google is pairing Dean’s acknowledgement of poor handling with operational changes: executive compensation will be tied to diversity and inclusion goals, while HR and retention resources are being directed toward contentious exits.
Employees and outside observers receive no account of what Google’s investigation found, leaving the company’s internal conclusions unavailable for scrutiny.
Second-order effects
Streamlining research-publication practices makes Google’s process for handling sensitive AI work a central point of accountability after Gebru’s account of her firing raised questions about researcher treatment.
Tying executive pay to diversity and inclusion gives Google leaders a direct incentive to treat retention and conflict handling as management performance issues rather than solely HR matters.
Third-order effects
If these measures are implemented consistently, AI-lab governance will be judged not only by published ethics principles but by who controls research review, personnel escalation, and executive incentives.
The dispute points toward ethical-AI groups needing institutional safeguards that survive conflicts between research leadership and corporate management.
The trend: AI labs are moving from voluntary ethics commitments toward operational governance systems that link research processes, personnel handling, and executive accountability.
I expected nothing more obviously. I write an email asking for things, I get fired, and then after a 3 month investigation, they say they should probably do some of the things I presumably got fired asking for, without holding anyone accountable for their actions. 1/ https://twit…
I'm glad you clarified that it's an “I'm sorry how this made you feel” and then followed by this. You know, I would bet money they had decided to fire Meg when they came up with that trash statement a month or so ago but strung her & team along thinking this is the best timing. h…
New: Google concludes investigation of its handling of @timnitGebru. Doesn't announce findings but makes a few policy changes. Margaret Mitchell still locked out of corporate email but remains google employee. New @JeffDean memo. https://www.axios.com/...
Seeing how @timnitGebru and @mmitchell_ai have been abused by @Google leaders, you need to ask why we trust them with our data. A culture of disregard of scientific integrity, out of this world gaslighting, misogynie, and racism... If we let it slides, we are creating a monster. …
As per previous by @inafried Google's Jeff Dean has apologized for the way @timnitGebru's dismissal was handled in terms of how it made women/underrepresented groups feel and co is adding diversity goals to exec performance reviews: https://www.bloomberg.com/... with @NicoAGrant
“It led some to question their place here, which I regret.” More nonapologies. They are experts on this. Email also hints towards more research censorship. A big win for ethics (not). I imagine many researchers will leave with other companies taking advantage. Congrats. 3/
What is going on within Google's management re: ethics and AI is so completely fucked up. TL;DR: after pushing out @timnitGebru it appears the company is slashing and burning the rest of the ethical AI team so it is no longer a force for ethical AI in the corporation. https://twi…
“increase its staff related to employee retention.” Yea? When the HR, Legal and VPs conspire to fire someone like that what would “more staff for employee retention” do? What power do they have? There is ZERO accountability. ZERO.
We have to do better job as a technology community We cannot continue to create products/services that disproportionately harm marginalized voices by replicating society's commitment to white supremacy and anti-Blackness https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
But writing this email and then doing what they did in the afternoon. I know they don't give a damn as someone else said this must be some sort of record. https://twitter.com/...
Excellent. Once again @JeffDean does this without consulting her manager Samy Bengio. Can't wait for the next time he talks about ethics & responsible AI. And for Marian Croak's legacy to be this. I have to thank all of them for getting me out of this horrible place. https://twit…
Google will double HR resources for retention but not double resources targeting poor judgment on the part of senior execs? https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Once again, a mediocre, unremarkable, white dude in tech is enabled, instead of facing the consequences of being unable to manage his fuckin feelings We all knew that he'd get to play the hero/victim and not the villain because y'all should know by now how to Spot The Pattern htt…
Oh no Angela its in your head. I regret how that makes you feel. Those emails you got threatening you and your spouse? I'm sorry how that made you feel too. https://twitter.com/...
The more I think of this, with the length of this so called investigation, the timing of the new re-org, what they're doing to Meg, the team etc, this whole thing was probably to stall for time to quiet down the news cycle. It took 3 months to get to this? https://twitter.com/...
FYI this is happening concurrently to several other tech workers at different companies. They ask for a change, something the company already markets as a thing they do ("We're diverse and inclusive!!! We pay you like a man!!!"). Then they get fired or are asked to leave. https:/…
“Part of the new process will include a review and outline of the kinds of research the company believes it should be conducting.” Interesting how they fire me after I ask what the parameters of the research I can do at Google are. What they're announcing is more censorship. http…
Google ended its investigation into the firing of @timnitGebru today, and Jeff Dean's email to staff used the word “sensitive” no less than six times as a sort of euphemism for “controversial.” https://www.protocol.com/...
They're still doing what they're doing to my team, my co-lead's been locked out for 5 weeks. They timed a re-org announcement RIGHT BEFORE this. There's no connection right? But 3 months later they obviously can't hold anyone with any real power accountable. Thats impossible 2/
I wish the diversity numbers would be granularly disaggregated by roles so that ppl see how bad they are when they're released. So that they'd know just how bad they are in the research org—even worse, way worse than the rest of the company. Hopefully no one will ask why. https:/…
Here's a sentence: “Google told employees Friday it has wrapped up its investigation into the ouster of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru. The company declined to say what the internal inquiry found....” https://www.axios.com/...
Leaving aside the main issue, this whole affair is so utterly bizarre from a corporate communications perspective. What is Google trying to accomplish? Do they even know? https://twitter.com/...
Google told employees today it has wrapped up its investigation into the ouster of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru. The company said it is making some changes to how it handles issues around research, diversity and employee exits. https://www.axios.com/...
These changes— like tying exec pay to meeting DI objectives, or staffing for retention — would never have occurred without someone like Timnit pushing as hard as she pushed. But who gets credit for these improvements? Not her, she gets fired. For the pushing. https://twitter.com/…
Between the lines: None of these moves seem likely to quell the continued frustration over this matter, especially within Google's Ethical AI team, members of whom says they continue to be blindsided by the company's moves. https://www.axios.com/...
Changes: tying exec pay companywide to diversity and inclusion goals, streamlining of research publishing practices, more investments in retention and HR people to handle controversial exits. https://www.axios.com/...