OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google on Thursday named Marian Croak, one of the few Black executives, to oversee investigation into responsible artificial intelligence (AI) after weeks of internal anger over the firing of a prominent black scientist .
Google confirmed that Croak will lead ten teams, including a dozen scientists who study the ethical considerations of automated technologies known as AI. Timnit Gebru, the ethics co-leader of AI, said in December that Google had abruptly fired her for contesting company orders.
For weeks, employees have voiced concerns that Gebru’s criticism of Google has led to unfair punishment, and Croak has been one of the executives trying to find a way forward between staff and management.
Croak, a vice president of engineering who will report to Google AI chief Jeff Dean, told employees at a Thursday meeting that she respected Gebru and what happened to her was a shame.
In a video posted on Google’s blog, she also acknowledged dissent in the areas of research now under her purview. “There is quite a bit of conflict in the field right now, and it can be polarizing at times, 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 about Croak “a betrayal,” saying it happened behind the Ethical AI team and did not address the demands the team made after Gebru’s firing.
Gebru said in a statement, “Marian is a very accomplished pioneering scientist who I had admired and even confided in. It’s incredibly painful to see her legitimize what Jeff Dean and his subordinates have done with me and my team.”
Croak, who previously worked on the site’s trustworthiness for Google, will also oversee teams researching accessibility, social well-being and fairness in health algorithms.
Reporting by Paresh Dave and Jeffrey Dastin; Edited by Christopher Cushing