Google engineers quit over the dismissal of Timnit Gebru

Google has been receiving resignation letters, and in fact, this week, two engineers have left their posts. It was learned that the reason for their decision to quit was the dismissal of their colleague, Timnit Gebru, an AI ethics researcher.

The workers who quit

As per Reuters, the two resigned after the workers asked for the company’s commitments to academic freedom as well as to reform Google’s research organization. It was said that the engineers’ departure is an indication of an ongoing internal conflict over ethics and diversity.

Vinesh Kannan, the company’s software engineer, revealed via a tweet that he left Google on Feb. 2. He also shared that his reason was the tech giant’s mistreatment of Timnit Gebru and April Christina Curley, a recruiter who was inappropriately ousted in 2020. The dismissed employees are Black.

“I left because of Google's mistreatment of @timnitGebr and @RealAbril crossed a personal red line I wrote down when I started the job,” he tweeted on Feb. 4. “I know I gained a lot from Google but I also gained a lot from both of their work, and they were wronged.”

The other one who quit was David Baker, a user-safety director; he left last month after working for Google for 16 years. He said that Gebru’s departure wiped out his desire to continue as a “Googler.”

“We cannot say we believe in diversity, and then ignore the conspicuous absence of many voices from within our walls,” he said.

Google was asked for comments but declined. However, it previously stated that it is looking to bring back its workers’ trust once the issues with Gebru and Curley are settled.

Who is Tinmit Gebru?

The person that pushed Kannan and Baker to resign was Google’s AI ethics team’s co-leader. She was terminated in December last year as a senior exec wants her to withdraw a paper she co-authored. In the paper, she argued that tech companies must do more to make sure that gender biases and derogatory language are not magnified by AI systems that are created to simulate human language.

The Guardian reported that Gebru’s firing sparked outrage, and Google workers demanded her reinstatement and issued an apology too. The employees sent a letter to their superior, but apparently, the higher office did not grant their wish.