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- Google on Tuesday announced a new external ethics council which will examine its development of AI.
- Google VP of Global Affairs Kent Walker said the group will look at ethical problems including "facial recognition and fairness in machine learning."
- One of the council’s members heads up a conservative US think-tank, and was criticized by a Washington University researcher for her views on trans people and immigration.
Google has set up a new external ethics council to oversee its development of AI, but one of its members has been criticized for her views on trans people and immigration.
Google’s VP of Global Affairs Kent Walker announced the new Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC) in a blog post on Tuesday.
"This group will consider some of Google’s most complex challenges that arise under our AI Principles, like facial recognition and fairness in machine learning, providing diverse perspectives to inform our work," Walker said.
Google has stoked anger around its development of AI in the past. In June last year, it killed off Project Maven — its military drone project — after a dozen employees resigned in protest.
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Walker added that the council will meet four times over the course of 2019, starting in April. Google plans to publish a report summarising the meetings.
The eight-person council comprises mostly of AI researchers and academics, although two members have been active in American politics: William Joseph Burns and Kay Coles James.
Kay Coles James called out for her views
William Joseph Burns was Barack Obama’s secretary of state from 2011 to 2014, and prior to that was ambassador to Jordan and Russia.
Kay Coles James is president of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. Os Keyes, a researcher at the University of Washington, criticised Google’s appointment of James on Twitter, saying she "hates" trans people and foreigners.
James has previously opposed allowing "biological males" in women’s bathrooms, according to a tweet, and supported Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over his proposed border wall as " thousands of illegal aliens, dangerous criminals, drug smugglers and sex traffickers crossing [sic] the border every day."
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Verge writer Nick Statt speculated that James’ appointment could be aimed at appeasing Republican lawmakers, following accusations of anti-conservative bias at Google.
Google and James (via the Heritage Foundation) were not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Isobel Asher Hamilton)