Google fires researcher Meg Mitchell, escalating AI saga

Google fired the lead of its Ethical Artificial Intelligence team, Meg Mitchell, escalating the turmoil surrounding its AI division after the acrimonious exit of Mitchell’s former colleague Timnit Gebru.

“I’m fired,” Mitchell tweeted Friday, a minute after saying she was “in too much pain to articulate much of anything useful. Firing @timnitGebru created a domino effect of trauma for me and the rest of the team, and I believe we are being increasingly punished for that trauma.”

Mitchell’s firing highlighted that even as Google tried to move past the disarray in its AI division with an apology, a leadership change and new policies, the upheaval showed no sign of letting up.