Black and Queer AI Groups Say They’ll Spurn Google Funding

In a joint statement released Monday, Black in AI, Queer in AI, and Widening NLP stated they acted to object Googles treatment of its former ethical AI team leaders Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, as well as previous employer April Christina Curley, a Black queer female.”In the statement, the groups back calls made in March by former and existing Google staff members for academic conferences to decline Google funding and for policymakers to enact more powerful whistleblower protections for AI researchers.This is the first time in the short history of each of the 3 companies that they have actually turned down financing from a sponsor.Mondays statement marks the most current fallout in reaction to Googles treatment of Black individuals and ladies and allegations of interference in research study documents about AI slated for publication at scholastic conferences.In March, organizers of the Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) conference turned down Google funding, and researcher Luke Stark turned down $60,000 in Google funding.”Black in AI cofounder Rediet Abebe, who will become the first Black female faculty member at the University of California Berkeleys department of electrical engineering and computer system science, committed last year to not taking money from Google to diminish the companys sway over AI research.

In a joint declaration launched Monday, Black in AI, Queer in AI, and Widening NLP stated they acted to protest Googles treatment of its former ethical AI group leaders Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, as well as former recruiter April Christina Curley, a Black queer female.”In the statement, the groups endorse calls made in March by present and previous Google workers for academic conferences to decline Google funding and for policymakers to enact more powerful whistleblower securities for AI researchers.This is the very first time in the brief history of each of the three organizations that they have turned down financing from a sponsor.Mondays statement marks the newest fallout in response to Googles treatment of Black people and females and allegations of disturbance in research papers about AI slated for publication at scholastic conferences.In March, organizers of the Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) conference turned down Google financing, and researcher Luke Stark turned down $60,000 in Google financing.”Black in AI cofounder Rediet Abebe, who will become the first Black female professors member at the University of California Berkeleys department of electrical engineering and computer science, devoted last year to not taking cash from Google to decrease the businesss sway over AI research study.