Formed at the end of March, the External Advisory Council on Advanced Technologies (ATEAC), which was supposed to address ethical issues in artificial intelligence, lasted only a few days.
The reason for this was a petition demanding the removal of one of the council members. Heritage Foundation President Kay Coles James had repeatedly made derogatory remarks about sexual minorities, which caused significant discontent among staff. Hundreds of Google employees signed the petition. Discontent continued to grow, leading to the decision to disband the AI ethics council. In an official statement, Google mentioned that ATEAC cannot currently operate according to its previously planned agenda, therefore, the council's activities will be discontinued. The company will continue to be accountable for decisions made in the field of AI, and new ways to engage with the public on important issues are yet to be found.
It is worth noting that the AI ethics council was meant to discuss various issues and make decisions related to Google's developments in artificial intelligence. Despite the disbandment of the council, Google will continue its efforts to make the realm of artificial intelligence more transparent and accessible. It is possible that in the future, the company will attempt to establish a new committee tasked with addressing issues related to AI ethics, the use of artificial intelligence technologies for military purposes, and more.
Source: 3dnews.ru
