"Let's Not Become Evil"... Google Doubles AI Ethics Research Staff

Photo by WSJ

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Google has decided to double the size of its research team studying artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. To prevent potential harms such as bias and discrimination to humanity, it will also significantly increase budget support for the program verification team.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 11th (local time), Marian Croak, Vice President of Engineering at Google, stated at a WSJ-hosted event, "We will expand the AI ethics research team to 400 members, twice the current size," and added, "We will also increase the operating budget for the team that evaluates products to reduce harm caused by AI."

Vice President Croak emphasized, "If AI does not operate ethically, it becomes a business problem for the company that developed the technology."

Google's policy appears to be a response to the recent surge in controversies surrounding AI ethics in various information technology (IT) sectors.

Previously, Google discovered and corrected frequent errors occurring specifically with Black users during the development of AI technology that detects irregular heartbeats through smartphone users' fingers.

Some technology companies such as Amazon and IBM have withdrawn from facial recognition businesses that use AI technology to identify individuals, citing concerns over bias and discrimination, highlighting ethical controversies as a major issue in the AI field.

AI ethics is also a focus at the government level. The U.S. Department of Defense, which established the Joint AI Center in 2018 and is increasing AI investments in defense, has adopted ethical guidelines emphasizing responsibility in the development and use of AI technology to apply it in real-world operations.