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Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

bbc.com

1–10 of 326 posts

Re: Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

#2
Companies can't straddle the line. They're either going to have to go all-in on diversity, inclusion, and politics, or they're going to have to clamp down hard like Brian Armstrong.

Google needs to decide what it wants to be. Given its choices, I think it's clear what they want. They just need to say it.

It'll help employees and potential employees know if they want to work there.

Re: Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

#5
There should be a bare minimum percentage of a company that "rallies behind X" before news articles are written on the subject.

Google has just about 100,000 employees + 120,000 temps/contractors. If hundreds - lets say 500 employees - sign something (aka click a button), currently we're sitting at .2% of the company that feels a certain way.

What other petitions could you get .2% of the company to sign onto?

"Google staff rally behind overthrowing the US government to create a Marxist utopia"

"Google staff rally behind mandatory veganism in the US"

"Google staff rally behind anti-vaxxers"

etc

Re: Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

#6
Ultimatums never work, and threatening to resign is never a good strategy (compared to either trying to amicably work things out OR just resigning).

However Google's passive-aggressive response wasn't terribly great either ("We respect your decision to leave Google ... and we are accepting your resignation.")

It's a firing packaged up as fake "respect".

I wish both sides learned more about how to de-escalate situations.

Re: Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

#7

I'm tired of FAANG "rallies" where the numerator is such a small percentage of the denominator. I bet one could get "hundreds" of Google employees to rally behind a flat earth and many more for the abolition of mayonnaise.

The numerator is such a small percentage because so many fear losing their jobs for speaking out. In that context, this number is quite significant. Even if you disagree with their stance, you have to admit that it takes courage to speak up in these kinds of situations.

Re: Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

#9

I'm tired of FAANG "rallies" where the numerator is such a small percentage of the denominator. I bet one could get "hundreds" of Google employees to rally behind a flat earth and many more for the abolition of mayonnaise.

I bet you could not.

Re: Google staff rally behind fired AI researcher

#10
post #7

I'm tired of FAANG "rallies" where the numerator is such a small percentage of the denominator. I bet one could get "hundreds" of Google employees to rally behind a flat earth and many more for the abolition of mayonnaise.

The numerator is such a small percentage because so many fear losing their jobs for speaking out. In that context, this number is quite significant. Even if you disagree with their stance, you have to admit that it takes courage to speak up in these kinds of situations.

Or simply most people don't care... No one ever gets fired for just "rallying"
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