Formed at the end of March, the External Advanced Technology Advisory Council (ATEAC), which was supposed to consider ethical issues in the field of artificial intelligence, lasted only a few days.
The reason for this was a petition demanding the removal from office of one of the council members. The president of the Heritage Foundation, Kay Coles James, has repeatedly spoken unflatteringly about sexual minorities, which caused considerable discontent among her subordinates. The petition was signed by hundreds of Google employees. Dissatisfaction continued to grow, so the decision was made to end the existence of the AI ethics council. Google's official statement says that ATEAC is currently unable to carry out its activities according to the previously planned plan, therefore, the activities of the council will be terminated. The company will continue to be held accountable for decisions made in the field of AI, and ways to get public relations to discuss important issues have yet to be found.
Recall that the AI Ethics Council was supposed to discuss various issues and make decisions related to Google's developments in the field of artificial intelligence. Despite the dissolution of the council, Google will continue to work to make the field of artificial intelligence more transparent and accessible. It is possible that in the future the company will try to organize a new commission, whose responsibilities will include consideration of issues related to the ethics of AI, the use of artificial intelligence technologies for military purposes, etc.
Source: 3dnews.ru