Watch: Google's AI boss focuses on ethics in wake of Project Maven controversy

The tech giant's internal debates over the issue were revealed in internal emails obtained by publications including the New York Times, showing that one of the company's top minds, Google Cloud head AI scientist Fei-Fei Li, had early on raised alarms about Project Maven. But her motives appeared to be more focused on the potential for negative publicity rather than ethical concerns. Fast Company recently asked Fei-Fei to clarify her views on the controversy but got only a partial answer that didn't seem to bridge the gap between ethical aspiration and business reality. The attitude expressed in the emails seemed particularly disconcerting considering Fei-Fei's longstanding commitment to a human-centered approach to new technologies. Holding a second job as head of Stanford University's AI Lab, Fei-Fei has dedicated years to advancing ethical uses of artificial intelligence.