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A comment on Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it sends demands to CEO. Parent comment

Re:Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it send... by fatbird on Thursday December 17, 2020 @01:55AM (#25453307)
the primary motivation for funding ethical AI work is _public relations_

Exactly. The secondary motivation is the possibility of benefiting from some basic research. It's ultimately a credibility play, which makes their handling of the whole affair so mind-bogglingly dumb. There would have been no problem at all for Gebru to have presented her supposedly anti-Google paper; zero practical consequence for Google.

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Re:Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it send... by loopz on Thursday December 17, 2020 @02:01AM (#25453337)
On the contrary: The research paper is evidence of knowingly committing later wrongdoings.
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Re:Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it send... by fatbird on Thursday December 17, 2020 @02:08AM (#25453368)
As we debate this, Google has been credibibly accused of the most basic and wide-ranging antitrust violations, and whether they actually pay a price for it, assuming the accusations are true, isn't a slam dunk.

Knowingly committing ethical violations with AI seems likely pretty low on their list of concerns.

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Re:Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it send... by loopz on Thursday December 17, 2020 @06:48PM (#25462047)
It is, but to the managers in charge of this part of the organization, they probably want to keep their options and not be cornered by bad PR.
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