Google cracks down on posts by $2.7B AI guru who sounded off on transgender people, antisemitism: report | Latest Tech News
Google has cracked down on posts by a star AI researcher who made controversial feedback about transgender people and accused some colleagues of antisemitism, according to a current report.
Noam Shazeer – who turned co-lead on development of Google’s flagship AI fashions after the tech giant purchased his startup Character.AI for $2.7 billion – reportedly miffed colleagues with his response to a thread about International Transgender Day of Visibility in the spring.
“I do not believe that humans have an attribute called gender,” Shazeer wrote, news website the Information reported Friday. “I do not believe that G-d puts people in the wrong bodies. I do not believe that it is okay to sterilize children. You have the right to your beliefs. I do not share them.”
The post drew pushback from a number of of his coworkers, with Shazeer’s supervisor at the time, Jeff Dean, among those who reportedly called him out.
“Noam, you don’t have to agree with all positions others express, but as leaders, supporting our whole community of employees is something that we should be doing, not creating environments that don’t show this support for everyone,” Dean was quoted as stating to Shazeer.
Noam Shazeer cofounded Character.AI. The Washington Post via Getty Images
David Silver, a top worker at Google’s DeepMind division, also took exception, writing: “leadership is a privilege and the words we speak matter.”
Shazeer’s post was later deleted by inner moderators, according to the Infromation. He will not be anticipated to face disciplinary motion.
Last yr, he reportedly bought kicked off an inner communication channel following complaints about his antisemitism allegations against colleagues, according to the Information.
Shazeer reportedly clashed with coworkers who had been upset that Google had relaxed its guidelines against developing AI that could possibly be used for army or surveillance functions. The staff had been involved that Google’s technology could possibly be used by Israel in its conflict against Hamas.
Google moderates any inner posts that are deemed politically disruptive. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Shazeer, who is Jewish, continuously accused coworkers who criticized Google over the coverage change of being antisemitic, according to the Information, which cited current and former staff.
Plans for Google staff to maintain a lunch assembly at the firm’s London workplace drew a sarcastic comment from the AI guru, who is said to be pleasant with Google’s cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
“LOL – you have found a way to take your anitsemitic Israel-bashing club offline where I can’t call you out on it,” he was quoted as saying.
Moderators reportedly eliminated Shazeer from the inner communications channel on which the exchanges had been happening.
Google paid $2.7 billion to purchase Noam Shazeer’s startup. REUTERS
Google declined to remark.
The company has an inner coverage barring “discussions that make other Googlers feel like they don’t belong or have no place here” on its message boards, including “making statements that insult, demean, or humiliate (whether individually or by reference to groups) other employees,” according to a doc considered by the Information.
Last yr, the tech giant cracked down on posts associated to the Israel-Hamas conflict that some staff thought of antisemitic. The transfer led some Arab and Muslim staff to say their speech was being stifled.
In 2024, Google also fired more than two dozen staff who staged disruptive sit-ins at workplaces in New York and California.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has warned staff not to focus on politics in the office.
In a prolonged memo last yr, he said Google “is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts co-workers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”
Stay informed with the latest in tech! Our web site is your trusted source for breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, gadget launches, software program updates, cybersecurity, and digital innovation.
For recent insights, knowledgeable coverage, and trending tech updates, go to us often by clicking right here.
