Google has canceled its ethics committee on AI after an adverse response from staff

The council lasted barely more than a week after thousands of Google employees had signed a petition calling for the removal of a member.

The original plan: The External Advisory Board on Advanced Technologies has been set up to "guide the responsible development of artificial intelligence projects" within Google. Composed of eight members, including technologists, philosophers and economists, it was to meet four times a year starting this month. One of these members, Alessandro Acquisti, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, had already announced that he would not take the role. According to Vox, Google cancels the entire panel and starts from scratch.

The problem: The concern was centered on the inclusion of Kay Coles James, president of the Heritage Foundation, in the panel. Her think tank is skeptical of climate change and has personally opposed the protection of LGBTQ rights. Another panel member, Dyan Gibbens, CEO of the drone company, has also been controversial as his company provides technology to the military, a sensitive topic within Google.

Google declaration: A Google spokesman told Vox: "It has become clear that in today's environment, ATEAC can not function as we wish, so we will end the board and come back to the drawing board. We will continue to be responsible for working on the important issues raised by artificial intelligence and will find different ways to obtain outside advice on these topics. "

This suggests that the ethics board will be reinstated in one form or another, although it is unclear whether Google will try the same approach next time. But if that is the case, it is likely that he will be more careful about the people he names.

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