AI
AI
AI
AI researcher Timnit Gebru launches Distributed AI Research Institute
Prominent artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru has launched a new nonprofit lab called the Distributed AI Research Institute, Wired reported today.
“Instead of fighting from the inside, I want to show a model for an independent institution with a different set of incentive structures,” Gebru told the publication.
Gebru, the founder and executive director of the Distributed AI Research Institute, was previously the co-lead of Google LLC’s Ethical AI team. Gebru was terminated in December 2020 after Google managers had asked her to retract a research paper about the dangers of large-scale text processing AI models of the kind used by the Alphabet Inc. unit.
Gebru said she had been fired, while Google claimed that she resigned. Thousands of workers, researchers and academics signed an open letter expressing support for Gebru.
In an internal memo sent to employees after Gebru’s departure, Google reportedly issued an apology and pledged to launch an investigation, as well as take steps to restore trust. “I’ve heard the reaction to Dr. Gebru’s departure loud and clear: it seeded doubts and led some in our community to question their place at Google,” Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai wrote in the memo, according to Axios. “I want to say how sorry I am for that, and I accept the responsibility of working to restore your trust.”
The Distributed AI Research Institute, which is also known as DAIR, currently operates as a project of a nonprofit organization called Code for Science and Society. DAIR is later set to be incorporated as a separate nonprofit. DAIR is supported by $3.7 million from the Ford, MacArthur, Rockefeller and Open Society foundations, as well as the Kapor Center. According to Wired, DAIR will not only carry out research but also take on consulting projects to help support its work.
“I want to make sure DAIR is not just working on research papers,” Gebru told Reuters. “I want to be an institute that realizes you have to engage with various groups of people.”
DAIR will critically study services offered by big tech companies, Reuters reported. The lab will also propose AI-based solutions to issues such as food insecurity and climate change. As part of their work, DAIR researchers will publish studies, as well as educate activists and lawmakers globally.
Photo: TechCrunch/Flickr
A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:
Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.
- 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more
- 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network.
About SiliconANGLE Media
SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.
Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.
