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Re:Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it send... by renewiltord on Thursday December 17, 2020 @11:24AM (#25456991)
This is just how you behave: when faced with opposing pressure you roll over. That's fine, I do the same in some situations: I don't fight people who can cause me great damage like police or air stewards or immigration agents.

But rolling over all the time is not an optimal strategy. The more power you have, the rarer you should roll over.

And of course many without power will see those with power and say "In their place, I'd roll over". Yes, naturally. That's because you don't have any power. So being a pushover comes naturally to you, you've optimized well.

Re:Tensions in Google's ethical AI group increase as it send... by hn_throwaway_99 on Thursday December 17, 2020 @12:34PM (#25457831)
> So being a pushover comes naturally to you, you've optimized well.

Talk about damning with faint praise. While my mind is honestly saying "seriously, fuck off", I'll try to put this in a more constructive response.

It's not about "rolling over". It's about having the maturity to realize when you are dealing with management, if by your demands you put them in an absolute no-win situation, then you've only screwed over yourself. That no-win situation was the demands by Gebru and the ethical AI team that management throw their colleagues under the bus. Management simply can't accede to that demand without saying to a huge portion of their employees "We're going to trash the reputations of other employees based on who yells the loudest".

Gebru and the ethical AI team most probably could have gotten huge portions of what they wanted (perhaps not all, but most), and especially would have better actually implemented the organizational change they say they want, if they hadn't handled the situation so extremely unprofessionally.