Google locks out another top AI ethicist

The move comes a little over a month after sacking of prominent AI researcher Timnit Gebru

Google has locked the corporate employee account of ethical AI team leader Margaret Mitchell, and is investigating her activity, according to Bloomberg.

The move comes about a month after another prominent AI researcher, Timnit Gebru, said she was fired by the company for sending an internal email that accused the firm of "silencing marginalised voices".

On Tuesday, Gebru tweeted that Google has not "yet" fired Mitchell, but she has been told that her account will remain "locked out for at least a few days".

In a statement to Bloomberg, Google said that the company's systems recently detected that "an account had exfiltrated thousands of files and shared them with multiple external accounts".

The employee was informed about the issue, according to the company, and an internal investigation was started as part of standard procedures.

Google says it automatically locks an employee's corporate account if the company's security systems find that its credentials could be compromised. The account is also locked in case an automated rule involving the handling of confidential data is triggered.

Google has faced widespread criticism in the past month over Gebru's termination from the company.

Last year, Dr Gebru had been working on a paper that scrutinised bias in artificial intelligence, and mentioned Google's own technology, which the company has been using in its search business.

Gebru submitted the paper for internal review at Google in October, but was surprised to find that the company rejected it the next day. Later, she was informed that she had been dismissed, although Google says that she resigned from her job.

A group of researchers from Google's Ethical AI team wrote a letter to senior officials last month, demanding that Google commit to new policies and bring greater academic freedom for workers.

Titled "The Future of Ethical AI at Google Research," the letter was addressed to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, AI chief Jeff Dean and engineering vice president Megan Kacholia.

Margaret Mitchell has previously criticised actions taken by Google leaders like Dean following Gebru's termination. She has also been critical of Google and other big tech companies for how they address issues of systemic bias and diversity.

Last week, Mitchell stated on Twitter that she was documenting "current critical issues from [Gebru's] firing, point by point, inside and outside work".

The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) has expressed concern over the suspension of Mitchell's corporate account, calling the decision 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 organization calls into question Google's commitment to ethics - in AI and in their business practices," the union said in a statement.

"Many members of the Ethical AI team are AWU members and the membership of our union recognizes the crucial work that they do and stands in solidarity with them."

AWU, which was formed earlier this month, is open to all US and Canadian workers at Alphabet and includes full-time employees, temporary workers, contractors and other vendors.

While announcing the union, its elected leaders said the union would work to ensure that employees at Alphabet receive fair wage, without fear of abuse, discrimination or retaliation. They also said that the union would provide a platform for workers to speak out against discriminatory work practices at Google, and how the firm handles issues like online hate speech.