Last month, employees at Google and other units of parent firm Alphabet announced the creation of a union. AFP
Last month, employees at Google and other units of parent firm Alphabet announced the creation of a union. AFP
Last month, employees at Google and other units of parent firm Alphabet announced the creation of a union. AFP
Last month, employees at Google and other units of parent firm Alphabet announced the creation of a union. AFP

Google sidelines another AI researcher despite outcry over Timnit Gebru firing


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Google locked out artificial intelligence researcher Margaret Mitchell from its corporate systems, making her the second outspoken critic at the company to be sidelined. Ms Mitchell was a vocal supporter of her colleague Timnit Gebru, who departed under acrimonious circumstances last month.

Ms Mitchell leads Alphabet’s ethical AI unit, which is responsible for developing the company’s technology in a socially responsible manner. Ms Gebru tweeted on Tuesday that Ms Mitchell’s "corp access is now locked" and that the researcher had been told she would remain locked out "for at least a few days."

Ms Mitchell didn’t respond to a request for comment. A Google spokesman said the company is actively investigating the matter and provided the following statement:

"Our security systems automatically lock an employee’s corporate account when they detect that the account is at risk of compromise due to credential problems or when an automated rule involving the handling of sensitive data has been triggered. In this instance, yesterday our systems detected that an account had exfiltrated thousands of files and shared them with multiple external accounts. We explained this to the employee earlier today."

Former Google AI research scientist Timnit Gebru. AFP
Former Google AI research scientist Timnit Gebru. AFP

The Alphabet Workers Union, which counts Ms Mitchell as a member, said it was concerned by the suspension of her systems access, calling the move an "attack on the people who are trying to make Google’s technology more ethical."

"Regardless of the outcome of the company’s investigation, the ongoing targeting of leaders in this organisation calls into question Google’s commitment to ethics – in AI and in their business practices," the union said Wednesday in a statement. "Many members of the Ethical AI team are AWU members and the membership of our union recognises the crucial work that they do and stands in solidarity with them."

Google’s statement on the matter was an attempt to tarnish Ms Mitchell’s reputation despite a typical practice of refusing to comment on personnel matters, the union added.

Ms Gebru, best known for showing how facial recognition algorithms are better at identifying White people than Black people, left Google in a storm of controversy in December. She has said she was fired after the company demanded she retract a research paper she co-authored that questioned an AI technology at the heart of Google’s search engine. The company has said she resigned.

Close to 2,700 Googlers and more than 4,300 academics and civil society supporters signed a petition in favor of Ms Gebru. Google chief executive Sundar Pichai emailed an apology to employees and said he is investigating the incident.

Ms Mitchell has been a vocal supporter of Ms Gebru on social media and a critic of the shortcomings of Google and other tech companies in how they address issues of race, gender and systemic bias.

The company has increasingly clashed with employees in recent years over AI projects, especially with the military, and workplace diversity.

Earlier this month, several employees unveiled the Alphabet Workers Union to pressure the company on issues including compensation and ethical concerns such as the kinds of work Google engages in.

On December 21, April Curley, who spent six years as a Google diversity recruiter, said she was fired for speaking out internally about her concerns that the company wasn’t sufficiently interested in diversifying its workforce. In a Twitter thread, she said Google does not "want Black talent."

Subsequently, HBCU20x20, an organisation that pairs students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities with companies, canceled an agreement to work with Google, which was signed last year.

Mr Pichai will meet with several of these colleges on January 29 to discuss representation in the technology industry, according to an official from Florida A&M University.

In addition to the president of Florida A&M, representatives from Howard University, Morgan State University, Prairie View A&M University, North Carolina A&T University and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund are expected to take part in the virtual meeting, the Florida A&M official said.

"We are dedicated to hiring and retaining Black+ and other underrepresented talent at Google, and we’re committed to strengthening our partnerships with HBCUs," a Google spokeswoman wrote in an emailed statement. "This work is critical – in 2019 we welcomed graduates from 19 HBCUs and over the past decade, we’ve expanded our recruiting efforts to more than 800 schools."

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
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  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
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  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Director: Sharat Katariya

Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav

3.5/5

TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdinburgh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%204%20%3Cem%3E(unchanged)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBahrain%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2015)%3C%2Fem%3E%3B%20second%20daily%20service%20from%20January%201%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EKuwait%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2016)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMumbai%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAhmedabad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColombo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202%20%3Cem%3E(from%20January%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMuscat%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cem%3E%20%3C%2Fem%3EMarch%201%3Cem%3E%20(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELyon%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBologna%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Emirates%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
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David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS

Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm

Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km

If you go

The flights 

Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.

The trip

The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore  offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.

The hotel

There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.

 

 

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now