OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – Google, Alphabet Inc, on Thursday appointed Marian Croak, one of its few black directors, to oversee research into responsible artificial intelligence (AI) after weeks of internal anger over firing prominent black science.
Google has confirmed that Croak will manage 10 teams, including a dozen scientists studying the ethical considerations of automated technologies known as AI. Etic AI co-leader Timnit Gebru said in December that Google had suddenly fired her for challenging the company’s orders.
Employees for weeks have expressed concern that Gebru’s criticism of Google has led to unfair punishments, and Croak has been among executives trying to mediate a path between staff and management.
Croak, a vice president of engineering who will report to Google AI chief Jeff Dean, told employees at a meeting Thursday that he respected Gebru and that what happened to him was unfortunate.
In a video on the Google blog, she also acknowledged dissent in research, now in her jurisdiction. “There are quite a few conflicts at the moment and it can be polarizing sometimes and what I would like to do is get people to have the conversation in a more diplomatic way,” she said.
Google employee Alex Hanna on Twitter called the news of Croak “a betrayal,” saying it occurred behind the Ethical AI team and did not address the demands made by the team after Gebru was fired.
Gebru said in a statement: “Marian is a very high-performance scientist, whom I had admired and even trusted. It’s extremely painful to see her legitimize what Jeff Dean and his subordinates did to me and my team. “
Croak, who previously worked on the site’s reliability for Google, will also oversee teams doing research on accessibility, social welfare and the correctness of health algorithms.
Reporting by Paresh Dave and Jeffrey Dastin; Edited by Christopher Cushing