Person
Timnit Gebru
Timnit Gebru is a computer scientist known for research on bias and fairness in AI, and for a dispute that became a landmark in arguments over how independent corporate AI ethics research can be. As co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team she co-wrote "On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots," a paper on the environmental cost, embedded bias and misuse potential of large language models — the kind Google itself was building. In December 2020 her employment ended in circumstances the two sides describe differently: Gebru says she was fired after Google asked her to retract the paper, while Google's AI chief called it a resignation. Thousands of employees and academics signed a petition in protest, and she went on to found an independent research institute, DAIR.
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- Ideas & essays 1
- Government & policy 1
"On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots" is published
The paper that named the case against ever-larger language models — and whose suppression cost two Google researchers their jobs.
Ideas & essays · Culture & impact
Google dismisses Margaret Mitchell
Google said Mitchell had used automated scripts to search her own email for evidence of Timnit Gebru's mistreatment, violating security policy.
Labs & people · Culture & impact
Timnit Gebru leaves Google after a dispute over her paper
Gebru said she was fired over an internal email and a paper Google asked her to retract; Google's AI chief called it a resignation.
Labs & people · Culture & impact
IBM stops selling general-purpose facial recognition
Announced during the George Floyd protests; Amazon and Microsoft followed within days with police-sales moratoria.
Government & policy · Culture & impact
Also mentioned in 1 entry
Referenced in passing — Timnit Gebru isn't the main subject of these.