Google Appoints New Responsible AI Lead

Google Establishes Responsible AI Division, Led by Dr. Marian Croak

Google has selected Dr. Marian Croak to spearhead its newly formed responsible artificial intelligence division, which resides within Google Research. This appointment was initially reported by Bloomberg earlier today.

Dr. Croak formerly held the position of vice president of engineering at the technology giant.

Scope of Dr. Croak’s Responsibilities

In this elevated role, Dr. Croak will be responsible for guiding the teams dedicated to crucial areas such as accessibility, AI applications for social benefit, and the promotion of algorithmic fairness, particularly within healthcare.

Her oversight will also extend to initiatives focused on brain fairness, the development of ethical AI practices, and related endeavors.

Dr. Croak will directly report to Jeff Dean, the Senior Vice President overseeing Google AI Research and Health.

Confirming this news through a Google blog post and accompanying video, Dr. Croak expressed her commitment to this new challenge.

Context: Following Departures from the Ethical AI Team

This organizational shift occurs following the exits of prominent figures in Google’s ethical AI sphere. These include Dr. Timnit Gebru, the previous co-lead of the ethical AI team, and Margaret Mitchell, the founder of the same team.

In January, Google revoked Margaret Mitchell’s corporate access. This action reportedly stemmed from her use of automated tools to identify instances of alleged mistreatment towards Dr. Gebru, as detailed by Axios.

While Dr. Gebru asserts she was terminated from her position, Google maintains that she voluntarily resigned. A statement provided to Axios by Google at the time clarified the company’s position.

Currently, Mitchell remains locked out of her corporate accounts. She publicly shared on social media that she learned about the reorganization through the Bloomberg report.

Further Inquiry

TechCrunch contacted Google seeking clarification regarding the implications of this restructuring for Margaret Mitchell. However, the company declined to provide a comment concerning her situation.