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‘They Treated Me Like a Discardable Object’
A top Black A.I. researcher speaks about her experience after being pushed out of Google
In the early days of December, one of the world’s most well-known Black A.I. researchers, Timnit Gebru, made national headlines when she was ousted from Google, where she studied the limitations of artificial intelligence.
Her dismissal stemmed from an email she sent to internal groups for women and allies that expressed frustration at the lack of action taken by the company. She was also working on a research paper critical of the company’s tactics for developing massive algorithms, specifically how they can affect already marginalized communities.
Listen to Gebru tell her story in her own words on Slate’s What Next: TBD podcast, where she talks about her firing, the research paper, and co-founding the group Black in AI.
I also recommend reading the interview Gebru did with VentureBeat’s Khari Johnson. Here’s a preview:
Young women of color, I want them to know that these moments are necessary. I think these moments are really hard, and what’s painful to me is the message that this sends. The biggest story to me is if this is…
