Google cancels AI ethics board in response to outcry

This week, Vox and other outlets reported that Google’s newly created AI ethics board was falling apart amid controversy over several of the board members. The board was turning into a huge liability for Google

The board’s credibility first took a hit when Alessandro Acquisti, a privacy researcher, announced on Twitter that he was stepping down, arguing, “While I’m devoted to research grappling with key ethical issues of fairness, rights inclusion in AI, I don’t believe this is the right forum for me to engage in this important work.” The Google spokesperson I talked to pointed to several documents purportedly reflecting Google’s approach to AI ethics, from a detailed mission statement outlining kinds of research they will not pursue to a look back, at the start of this year, at whether their AI work so far is producing social good to detailed papers on the state of AI governance.

Source: www.vox.com