Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ 'There's a chilling effect': Google's firing of leading AI ethicist spurs industry outrage

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

One of the major differences between public enterprise and private enterprise is accountability. Public enterprise has accountability at two levels: at the top, where CEOs report ultimately to elected leaders; and at the bottom, where in most cases a union or professional association protects employees. With private enterprise, there is no accountability to elected officials except through regulation, the effectiveness of which is variable, or through some internal process, such as an ombudsperson or ethics commissioner. And the most sure sign that internal accountability has failed is when that person is summarily fired. That's what happened at Google this week, and that should be concerning to the entire community.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 25, 2024 07:52 a.m.

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