Microsoft axes team ensuring responsible AI principles reflected in products

MANILA, Philippines – Microsoft has laid off a team set up to guide innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) that would be ethical, responsible and otherwise sustainable, according to a report on Platformer on Tuesday, March 14 (March 13, US time). These layoffs are part of a reorganization push announced in January, which would slash about 10,000 jobs. They also follow a multibillion-dollar investment by Microsoft into OpenAI. Microsoft said in a statement it was "committed to developing AI products and experiences safely and responsibly, and does so by investing in people, processes, and partnerships that prioritize this." "Over the past six years we have increased the number of people across our product teams and within the Office of Responsible AI who, along with all of us at Microsoft, are accountable for ensuring we put our AI principles into practice. While Microsoft still maintains its Office of Responsible AI, its ethics and society team was in charge of ensuring the company's responsible AI principles were reflected in the designs of products shipped.