Re:About Google's approach to research publication – Jeff Dean
by btilly on Friday December 04, 2020 @07:15PM
(#25310164)
And I'm sure that her lawsuit will allege bias, and will include a demand for exactly that information so that she can prove racial discrimination against her.
Which means that Google is likely to have to produce all of the documents that they didn't want to produce.
Re:About Google's approach to research publication – Jeff Dean
by monocasa on Friday December 04, 2020 @10:05PM
(#25311318)
They almost certainly get to produce them under seal in that case though.
Re:About Google's approach to research publication – Jeff Dean
by jonathankoren on Friday December 04, 2020 @04:35PM
(#25308398)
Having your research -- the very rationale for your employment -- being squashed by execs suddenly without explaination, and in a highly unusual procedure, should make you question whether you are able to effectively continue in your role, or whether you're simply window dressing.
It looks like Google's AI Ethics team is meant to be green washing.
> Timnit responded with an email requiring that a number of conditions be met in order for her to continue working at Google, including revealing the identities of every person who Megan and I had spoken to and consulted as part of the review of the paper and the exact feedback. Timnit wrote that if we didn’t meet these demands, she would leave Google and work on an end date. We accept and respect her decision to resign from Google.
I find it unlikely Dean would lie about that, not least because the email would be easy to find.
Now, were the actions leading up to that effectively a firing, ie Timnit would have been unable to effectively continue in her role? Quite possibly.
[1] https://www.platformer.news/p/the-withering-email-that-got-a...