Ousted Black Google Researcher: 'They Wanted To Have My Presence, But Not Me Exactly'

Fallout continues over Google's ouster of research scientist Timnit Gebru, who helped lead the company's Ethical AI research team. Fallout continues over Google's ouster of research scientist Timnit Gebru, who helped lead the company's Ethical AI research team. When Google unceremoniously ousted Black researcher Timnit Gebru, she felt targeted. "My theory is that they had wanted me out for a while because I spoke up a lot about issues related to black people, women, and marginalization," Gebru said in an interview on NPR's Morning Edition. At Google, Gebru was the co-lead of the company's Ethical Artificial Intelligence team, where she was able to parlay her passion for highlighting the societal effects of AI into academic papers that could shape Google's largest products, like search.