There is criticism of its work. The New York Times has learned that Satrajit Chatterjee, a machine learning scientist, was fired by Google in March after it refused to publish a paper he wrote. The scientist was allowed to work on the paper after he and fellow authors expressed reservations, but was dismissed after a resolution committee rejected the paper and the researchers hoped to bring the issue to the board of directors.
The company told the Times that it had terminated him with cause and that the original paper had been thoroughly reviewed.
The exit underscores the ongoing conflict between the management of the company and the teams that drive many of its projects. The problems began when Timnit Gebru was fired by Google in 2020 after a dispute over a paper. Margaret Mitchell was terminated by the internet giant. Mitchell was accused of violating data confidentiality policies, but she also criticized executives and the decision to fire Gebru. These firings led veteran engineers to leave the firm and demand reforms, and that is not including company-wide protests over military contracts. The Gebru firing was investigated and promised changes, but the Chatterjee firing might not ease tensions.
It is no secret that Google is proud of its research. It is keen tout the benefits of artificial intelligence in fields like chip design and cancer detection, as well as its flagship phone, the Pixel 6. Any flaws could hurt the business of the company and tarnish its reputation as a leader in the field of artificial intelligence.
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