8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (27)
#14639007 at 2021-09-22 21:46:05 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #18518: EBake All For A LARP Edition
>>14638960
Home Resignations Alphabet Inc. Director Eric Schmidt Resigned
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Resignations
Alphabet Inc. Director Eric Schmidt Resigned
by QPRESS
2019-04-30, 22:00:00
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Name: Eric Schmidt
Continent: North America
Country: USA
Company: Alphabet Inc.
Branch: IT (Software)
Position: Director
Reason: Resigned
Announcement Date: April 30, 2019, 10:00pm
Resignation Date: April 30, 2019, 10:00pm
Source 1: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/335281/eric-schmidt-Diane-Greene-to-leave-alphabet-board.html
https://qpress.org/97827/
#6378859 at 2019-05-01 04:53:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8157: Everything Has Meaning Edition
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Stepping Down From Alphabet Board
Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google and one of the largest stakeholders in parent company Alphabet Inc., will step down from Alphabet's board in June.
Schmidt's departure leaves the technology giant without one of its most recognizable political advocates as it faces rising scrutiny about its size, data collection practices and influence.
Schmidt, 64, ran Google from 2001 to 2011, overseeing some of the company's most enduring acquisitions and skyrocketing revenue growth.
In 2011, after co-founder Larry Page returned as CEO, Schmidt shifted to executive chairman.
He also became Google's de facto ambassador, handling relationships with politicians and pushing the company's point of view in prickly global fights that Page and his successor, Sundar Pichai, have mostly shunned.
Schmidt is one of three men who control Alphabet's Class B shares, which have 10 times the voting rights of regular shares.
He was the third-largest owner of those shares with 8.6 percent, according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
Google co-founders Page and Sergey Brin each own more than 40 percent.
Diane Greene, a board member since 2012 and the former chief of Google's cloud-computing unit, will also leave the board, Alphabet said Tuesday in a statement.
Schmidt and Greene agreed to step down during the board's meeting on April 24
Schmidt stepped down in December 2017 from his role as chairman with little explanation.
He was outspoken backer of Democrat Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for president.
A consulting firm backed by Schmidt, Civis Analytics, announced this week it would work with Joe Biden's Democratic presidential campaign.
Sauce:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-30/former-google-ceo-schmidt-stepping-down-from-alphabet-board
#6377203 at 2019-05-01 01:50:04 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8154: Captcha Chaos Continues Edition
>>6377195
confirmed
(Reuters) - Google parent company Alphabet Inc said on Tuesday former Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene will step down from the search company's board in June.
Robin Washington, chief financial officer of biotech firm Gilead Sciences Inc, will join the board.
The changes follow scandals involving Google's handling of sexual misconduct cases and other situations that have led employees and shareholders to question the board's oversight.
Schmidt, who was instrumental in Google's growth for a decade, will remain a technical advisor to Alphabet. He had stepped down as chairman about a year ago…
#6377195 at 2019-05-01 01:49:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8154: Captcha Chaos Continues Edition
Noteable resignations
(Reuters) - Google parent company Alphabet Inc said on Tuesday former Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene will step down from the search company's board in June
https://twitter.com/reuters/status/1123403077132914689?s=21
#6377182 at 2019-05-01 01:48:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8154: Captcha Chaos Continues Edition
>>6377067
>>6377096
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/former-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-to-step-down-from-board/ar-AAAKAn4?ocid=spartandhp
"(Reuters) - Google parent company Alphabet Inc said on Tuesday former Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene will step down from the search company's board in June.
Robin Washington, chief financial officer of biotech firm Gilead Sciences Inc, will join the board.
The changes follow scandals involving Google's handling of sexual misconduct cases and other situations that have led employees and shareholders to question the board's oversight.
Schmidt, who was instrumental in Google's growth for a decade, will remain a technical advisor to Alphabet. He had stepped down as chairman about a year ago…"
#6376798 at 2019-05-01 01:16:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8154: Captcha Chaos Continues Edition
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/former-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-to-step-down-from-board/ar-AAAKAn4?ocid=spartandhp
"(Reuters) - Google parent company Alphabet Inc said on Tuesday former Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene will step down from the search company's board in June.
Robin Washington, chief financial officer of biotech firm Gilead Sciences Inc, will join the board.
The changes follow scandals involving Google's handling of sexual misconduct cases and other situations that have led employees and shareholders to question the board's oversight.
Schmidt, who was instrumental in Google's growth for a decade, will remain a technical advisor to Alphabet. He had stepped down as chairman about a year ago…"
#6375362 at 2019-04-30 23:04:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #8152: Southbound Carriers Edition
>>6375326
>https://abc.xyz/investor/news/releases/2019/0430/
Alphabet Appoints Robin L. Washington to its Board of Directors
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) today announced it has appointed Robin L. Washington to its Board of Directors. Ms. Washington is a recognized business leader with extensive experience across finance and operations, and will serve on Alphabet's Leadership Development and Compensation Committee. Her appointment became effective on April 25.
"I'm honored to join Alphabet's Board, and I look forward to the opportunity to help guide the company's important work," said Robin Washington. "I'm excited to be part of a company that has such a tremendous opportunity to improve the lives of people around the world."
John Hennessy, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Alphabet, said: "Robin's incredible business and leadership experience will be hugely valuable to our Board and company in the years ahead."
As Robin joins the Board, two long-standing Board members and executives will not be seeking re-election.
After over 18 years on the Board, Eric Schmidt is not seeking re-election at the expiration of his current term on June 19, 2019. He will continue as a technical advisor to Alphabet. Eric has served as a member of the Board since March 2001. He was Google's Chief Executive Officer from July 2001 to April 2011, and its Executive Chairman from April 2011 until January 2018.
"Eric has made an extraordinary contribution to Google and Alphabet as CEO, Chairman, and Board member. We are extremely grateful for his guidance and leadership over many years," Hennessy said.
Diane Greene, who has served as a member of the Board since January 2012, is not seeking re-election to the Board at the expiration of her current term on June 19, 2019. Diane also served as CEO of Google Cloud from December 2015 to January 2019.
"I want to thank Diane for her years of tremendous service to our Board and company, in particular for her work in leading Google's rapidly growing cloud business," Hennessy said.
About Robin L. Washington
Robin has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gilead Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, since February 2014. She joined Gilead as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in May 2008. From January 2006 to June 2007, Robin served as Chief Financial Officer of Hyperion Solutions, an enterprise software company. Prior to Hyperion, Robin served in a number of executive positions with PeopleSoft, Inc., a provider of enterprise application software. Robin currently serves as a director of Honeywell International, Inc., a diversified technology and manufacturing company, since April 2013 and Salesforce.com, a global leader in customer relationship management ("CRM") technology, since September 2013 where she currently chairs the audit committee. Robin also serves on the Board of Visitors, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University, the Presidents Council & Ross Business School Advisory Board, University of Michigan and the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Board of Directors. Robin is a certified public accountant and received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.
#5923533 at 2019-03-27 17:45:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #7578: Moar Madness Plz Edition
Google announces AI ethics panel
Google has launched a global advisory council to offer guidance on ethical issues relating to artificial intelligence, automation and related technologies. The panel consists of eight people and includes former US deputy secretary of state, and a University of Bath associate professor. The group will "consider some of Google's most complex challenges", the firm said. The panel was announced at MIT Technology Review's EmTech Digital, a conference organised the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Google has come under intense criticism - internally and externally - over how it plans to use emerging technologies. In June 2018 the company said it would not renew a contract it had with the Pentagon to develop AI technology to control drones. Project Maven, as it was known, was unpopular among Google's staff, and prompted some resignations. In response, Google published a set of AI "principles" it said it would abide by. They included pledges to be "socially beneficial' and "accountable to people".
The Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC) will meet for the first time in April. In a blog post, Google's head of global affairs, Kent Walker, said there would be three further meetings in 2019. Google has published a full list of the panel's members. It includes leading mathematician Bubacarr Bah, former US deputy secretary of state William Joseph Burns, and Joanna Bryson, who teaches computer sciences at the University of Bath, UK. It will discuss recommendations about how to use technologies such as facial recognition. Last year, Google's then-head of cloud computing, Diane Greene, described facial recognition tech as having "inherent bias" due to a lack of diverse data.
In a highly-cited thesis entitled Robots Should Be Slaves, Ms Bryson argued against the trend of treating robots like people. "In humanising them," she wrote, "we not only further dehumanise real people, but also encourage poor human decision making in the allocation of resources and responsibility." In 2018 she argued that complexity should not be used as an excuse to not properly inform the public of how AI systems operate. "When a system using AI causes damage, we need to know we can hold the human beings behind that system to account."
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47714921
AI at Google: our principles
https://www.blog.google/technology/ai/ai-principles/
An external advisory council to help advance the responsible development of AI
https://www.blog.google/technology/ai/external-advisory-council-help-advance-responsible-development-ai/
#4549886 at 2019-01-01 13:27:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #5803: Computer Generated Deep Fakes Edition
From a hush-hush Apple meeting to mysterious executive departures, 9 of the most important tech stories Business Insider reported in 2018
Business Insider's team of tech journalists was first to report some of the most important developments in tech in 2018.
From the surprise departure of Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene to the internal turmoil at AR pioneer Magic Leap and the problems leading up to Uber's fatal autonomous-car crash, the industry has had an eventful year.
Check out the list below for some great reads you may have missed, or to refresh your perspective and challenge your assumptions as you prepare for the new year in tech.
https://www.businessinsider.com/9-most-important-tech-stories-of-2018-2018-12
#4269207 at 2018-12-12 07:02:05 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #5439: GOOG & CHINA Edition
Executive tensions led to Google Cloud chief departure, report says
"One source of tension with other leaders within Google was Ms. Greene's efforts to piggyback on other parts of the company's business. She would often seek to make other Google business partnerships and advertising deals contingent on a deal of some kind with the company's cloud unit, according to people briefed on the talks, a strategy she has tried with companies including Salesforce. That sometimes frustrated other department chiefs who felt her unit didn't have the clout to justify those kinds of requests, these people said."
In 2016, Greene reportedly proposed a co-marketing relationship with DeepMind, Alphabet's artificial intelligence company, that would enable Google Cloud to market itself as "Powered by DeepMind"
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2018/11/19/Diane-Greene-google-cloud-departure-story-goog.html
#3937126 at 2018-11-17 06:50:18 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #5008: Militant Squirrels Edition
Resignations in the news today:
Red Bank Police chief retiring
https://wdef.com/2018/11/16/red-bank-police-chief-retiring/
Local retiring doctor reflects on 34-year career
https://www.mdjonline.com/news/a-doctor-s-notes-on-goodbye-local-retiring-doctor-reflects/article_d5fe46fc-e9d2-11e8-a8bd-6ba29d2e277b.html
All but one of Dixon's police officers resign
https://www.ky3.com/content/news/All-but-one-of-Dixons-police-officers-resign-500717831.html
Retiring ASCA director Al Head visits JCA
https://www.troymessenger.com/2018/11/16/retiring-asca-director-al-head-visits-jca/
Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene is out, to be replaced by former Oracle exec Thomas Kurian
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/16/google-cloud-ceo-Greene-being-replaced-by-former-oracle-exec-kurian.html
Bullitt County teacher fired after allegedly threatening school
http://www.wave3.com/2018/11/16/dusty-witherspoon-bullitt-county-teacher-fired-after-allegedly-threatening-school/
DeClaire fired by Clermont
https://maysville-online.com/top-stories/160339/declaire-fired-by-clermont
Toscano tells Va. House Democrats he plans to resign from leadership soon
https://www.roanoke.com/news/politics/general_assembly/toscano-tells-va-house-democrats-he-plans-to-resign-from/article_e093458c-b312-533b-bda2-6533f8f1a97a.html
Horizon Public Health leader is retiring in January
http://www.echopress.com/business/healthcare/4529915-tubbs-wins-state-award-horizon-public-health-leader-retiring-january
Salt Lake City department head fired for 'offensive behavior' related to sex, religion
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900042523/report-city-department-head-fired-for-offensive-behavior-related-to-sex-religion.html
Mayor de Blasio fires embattled commissioner of investigations
https://abc7ny.com/politics/doi-commissioner-mark-peters-fired-over-trump-like-behavior/4702250/
Billings city administrator retiring Friday
https://ktvq.com/news/2018/11/15/billings-city-administrator-retiring-friday/
Head of Lau Ola medical cannabis dispensary retiring
https://www.kitv.com/story/39493351/head-of-lau-ola-medical-cannabis-dispensary-retiring
Eldora library director retiring after 20 years
http://www.timescitizen.com/news/eldora-library-director-retiring-after-years/article_9933480a-e8fe-11e8-a5b4-3b1a7b0aa4f6.html
Undersheriff Tom Buckley retiring at the end of the month
https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/port-huron-township/2018/11/16/undersheriff-tom-buckley-retiring-end-month/2023718002/
Two #Paulding deputies retiring with decades of experience managing jail
https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/west_georgia/news/two-paulding-deputies-retiring-with-decades-of-experience-managing-jail/article_cc51de54-e9b7-11e8-a433-9b66bff90cad.html
Tulsa school board VP Cindy Decker announces she will resign due to new Educare job
https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/tulsa-school-board-vp-cindy-decker-announces-she-will-resign/article_29b575da-fe1f-5ecb-a326-e0c917cba69c.html
South Lyon Police Chief Lloyd Collins announces plans to retire, effective Feb. 1
https://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/south-lyon/2018/11/16/south-lyon-police-chief-lloyd-collins-retiring-after-over-21-years/1944550002/
County's Department of Health and Human Services Director To Resign
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/countys-department-of-health-and-human-services-director-to-resign/
Iowa Supreme Court Justice Daryl Hecht Retiring Amid Cancer Battle
https://whotv.com/2018/11/16/iowa-supreme-court-justice-daryl-hecht-retiring-amid-cancer-battle/
Arizona revenue and gaming directors retiring after long careers with state
http://ktar.com/story/2312589/arizona-revenue-and-gaming-directors-retiring-after-long-careers-with-state/
#3935786 at 2018-11-17 04:24:17 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #5006: Quiet Night Shift Edition
Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene is out, to be replaced by former Oracle exec Thomas Kurian
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/16/google-cloud-ceo-Greene-being-replaced-by-former-oracle-exec-kurian.html
#3934935 at 2018-11-17 03:13:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #5005: Pray for California Edition
>>3932880
>https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/technology/Diane-Greene-google-cloud.html
I did a dig on Diane Greene recently. She is probably second generation deep state. She attended a 'progressive' school that her father started. (Probably 2nd generation communist like Obama etc.) This is the kind of person making the big bucks at Google, Facebook, etc.
#3932880 at 2018-11-17 00:36:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #5002: Violently Tolerant Progressives Edition
Google Cloud Executive Who Sought Pentagon Contract Steps Down
SAN FRANCISCO - Diane Greene, whose pursuit of Pentagon contracts for artificial intelligence technology sparked a worker uprising at Google, is stepping down as chief executive of the company's cloud computing business.
Ms. Greene said she would stay on as chief executive until January. She will be replaced by Thomas Kurian, who oversaw product development at Oracle until his resignation in October. Ms. Greene will remain a board director at Google's parent company, Alphabet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/technology/Diane-Greene-google-cloud.html
NOTABLE RESIGNATION
#3928979 at 2018-11-16 19:41:55 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #4997: It's a Fire! Sale Edition
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-google-moves/google-cloud-names-thomas-kurian-to-replace-ceo-Diane-Greene-idUSKCN1NL294
#3523515 at 2018-10-18 21:01:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #4469: "Logical thinking v clickbait" Edition
SA CONFERENCE ATTENDEE DROP OUTS, So far
List is copy-pasta and incomplete.
NOTE: LdR does not appear on any site reporting the shortened attendees list, however we know the evil woman was one of the first to retract her invitation (pic related)
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
HSBC chief executive John Flint
Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam
MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga
BNP Paribas chairman Jean Lemierre
Societe Generale CEO Frederic Oudea
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
BlackRock chief Larry Fink
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters
Industry/technology
Ford chairman Bill Ford
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
British billionaire Richard Branson
Thrive CEO Ariana Huffington
Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene
Viacom CEO Bob Bakish
In addition, multiple media groups have withdrawn executives or journalists who were scheduled to join panels at the conference, including CNN, Bloomberg, The Economist, the New York Times, CNBC and the Financial Times.
Cont'd: (forgive possible duplicates)
- Steve Case, venture capitalist
- Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Los Angeles Times owner
- Robert Simonds, STX Entertainment CEO
- Joanna Popper, HP Inc. virtual reality executive
- Andy Rubin, creator of the Android mobile operating system
- Rodger Novak, co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics AG
All are touting the mysteries surrounding Khashoggi's disappearance and/or murder (still somewhat unclear of actual events).
It's interesting to recall that prior to last year's conference, scores of the kingdom's businessmen, princes and officials were rounded up in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel just days after last year's conference in what the government.
Could it be another round-up was planned but a multi-national one? And that these business men got wind of the operation and are using the Khashoggi story to deflect and avoid arrest?
#3523346 at 2018-10-18 20:46:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #4468: Manna for Montana Edition
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
HSBC chief executive John Flint
Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam
MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga
BNP Paribas chairman Jean Lemierre
Societe Generale CEO Frederic Oudea
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
BlackRock chief Larry Fink
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman
Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters
Industry/technology
Ford chairman Bill Ford
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
British billionaire Richard Branson
Thrive CEO Ariana Huffington
Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene
Media
Viacom CEO Bob Bakish
In addition, multiple media groups have withdrawn executives or journalists who were scheduled to join panels at the conference, including CNN, Bloomberg, The Economist, the New York Times, CNBC and the Financial Times.
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson
- Bob Bakish, Viacom Inc. chief executive
- Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber Technologies Inc. CEO
- Steve Case, venture capitalist
- Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Los Angeles Times owner
- Robert Simonds, STX Entertainment CEO
- Joanna Popper, HP Inc. virtual reality executive
- Andy Rubin, creator of the Android mobile operating system
- Rodger Novak, co-founder of CRISPR Therapeutics AG
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
Scores of the kingdom's businessmen, princes and officials were rounded up in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel just days after last year's conference in what the government
#3515449 at 2018-10-18 02:01:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #4458: Follow The Crumbs Edition
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/17/jeff-bezos-has-been-quiet-on-wapos-jamal-khashoggi.html
As the story of Jamal Khashoggi unfolds, one significant person has remained silent: Jeff Bezos.
Bezos owns The Washington Post, the newspaper that employed Khashoggi when the journalist entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2. Khashoggi hasn't been seen since, and a Turkish official has said that Saudi agents killed and dismembered him inside the consulate, according to The New York Times. The Saudi government has denied any connection to the disappearance.
With his gruesome story capturing front-page headlines, U.S. business leaders have voiced their disdain.
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Google Cloud head Diane Greene are among top executives to pull out of an investment conference in Saudi Arabia scheduled for later this month. Others, including Y Combinator's Sam Altman, IDEO CEO Tim Brown, and Dan Doctoroff, head of Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs, have said they won't work with Saudi Arabia's futuristic NEOM project even though they've been named as advisors.
Bezos, Amazon's CEO and the world's richest person, has made no public statement.
#3492098 at 2018-10-16 03:31:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #4428: Carpe Noctem Edition
Google Pulls Out Saudi Business Conference Amid Missing Journalist Scandal
Google decided not to take part in the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh amid the scandal around missing Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi, company's spokesperson said.
The forum will be held on October 23-25 and hosted by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
"We can confirm [CEO of Google cloud computing division] Diane Greene will not be attending the FII Summit," the spokesperson said, as quoted by The Hill media outlet.
The spokesperson refused to mention the reasons for the company's decision.
The World Bank, The New York Times, Bloomberg, CNBC and Uber have also announced their decision to pull out the conference amid the ongoing scandal around Khashoggi's disappearance.
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing in Turkey on October 2. According to the journalist's fiancee, he was invited to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul but never left the consulate building. Media reported that Turkish investigators believe the journalist was murdered inside the consulate, but Saudi Arabia claims that Khashoggi went missing after he left the building.
https://sputniknews.com/us/201810161068918803-google-usa-saudi-business/
#2849271 at 2018-09-02 20:43:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #3602: Extreme Goosebumps Edition
Google Will Not Renew Pentagon Contract That Upset Employees
June 1, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO - Google, hoping to head off a rebellion by employees upset that the technology they were working on could be used for lethal purposes, will not renew a contract with the Pentagon for artificial intelligence work when a current deal expires next year.
Diane Greene, who is the head of the Google Cloud business that won a contract with the Pentagon's Project Maven, said during a weekly meeting with employees on Friday that the company was backing away from its A.I. work with the military, according to a person familiar with the discussion but not permitted to speak publicly about it.
Google's work with the Defense Department on the Maven program, which uses artificial intelligence to interpret video images and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes, roiled the internet giant's work force. Many of the company's top A.I. researchers, in particular, worried that the contract was the first step toward using the nascent technology in advanced weapons.
Google's self-image is different - it once had a motto of "don't be evil." A number of its top technical talent said the internet company was betraying its idealistic principles, even as its business-minded officials worried that the protests would damage its chances to secure more business from the Defense Department.
About 4,000 Google employees signed a petition demanding "a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology." A handful of employees also resigned in protest, while some were openly advocating the company to cancel the Maven contract.
Months before it became public, senior Google officials were worried about how the Maven contract would be perceived inside and outside the company, The New York Times reported this week. By courting business with the Pentagon, they risked angering a number of the company's highly regarded A.I. researchers, who had vowed that their work would not become militarized.
Jim Mattis, the defense secretary, had reached out to tech companies and sought their support and cooperation as the Pentagon makes artificial intelligence a centerpiece of its weapons strategy. The decision made by Google on Friday is a setback to that outreach.
But if Google drops out of some or all of the competition to sell the software that will guide future weaponry, the Pentagon is likely to find plenty of other companies happy to take the lucrative business. A Defense Department spokeswoman did not reply to a request for comment on Friday.
#2307274 at 2018-07-27 06:02:58 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2907 Late Night Edition WWG1WGA Edition
Facial recognition technology does not yet have "the diversity it needs" and has "inherent biases", a top Google executive has warned.
The remarks, from the firm's director of cloud computing, Diane Greene, came after rival Amazon's software wrongly identified 28 members of Congress, disproportionately people of colour, as police suspects.
Google, which has not opened its facial recognition technology to public use, was working on gathering vast sums of data to improve reliability, Ms Greene said.
However, she refused to discuss the company's controversial work with the military.
"Bad things happen when I talk about Maven," Ms Greene said, referring to a soon-to-be abandoned project with the US military to develop artificial intelligence technology for drones.
After considerable employee pressure, including resignations, Google said it would not renew its contract with the Pentagon after it lapses some time in 2019.
The firm has not commented on the deal since, only to release a set of "AI principles" that stated it would not use artificial intelligence or machine learning to create weapons.
'Thinking really deeply'
On face recognition, there has been considerable concern among Silicon Valley workers, and civil rights groups, about the application of the emerging technology - particularly when it comes to law enforcement. Amazon's Rekognition software, which allows clients to use Amazon AI tech to power facial recognition, was being used by at least two police forces in the US.
There are major misgivings about the accuracy and readiness of the technology which has seen widespread, controversial use in China.
In the US, the misidentification of members of Congress was discovered by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which published its findings on Thursday. Amazon disputed the ACLU's conclusions about its technology, saying the group had used the wrong settings.
Ms Greene said that while Google does use facial recognition to help users identify friends in pictures, its underlying technology was not open for public use.
"We need to be really careful about how we use this kind of technology," she told the BBC.
"We're thinking really deeply. The humanistic side of AI - it doesn't have the diversity it needs and the data itself will have some inherent biases, so everybody's working to understand that."
She added: "I think everybody wants to do the right thing. I'm sure Amazon wants to do the right thing too. But it's a new technology, it's a very powerful technology."
Google's image recognition software has been offensively inaccurate in the past. In 2015, it identified a black couple as being "gorillas". The firm apologised.
Two members of Congress have written to Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos to talk about the alleged issue with his company's system.
Speaking of facial recognition more widely, the ACLU said: "Congress should enact a federal moratorium on law enforcement use of this technology until there can be a full debate on what - if any - uses should be permitted."
https:// www.bbc.com/news/technology-44977366?ns_source=twitter&ocid=socialflow_twitter&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_mchannel=social
#1738733 at 2018-06-14 02:51:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2188: Trust Yourself
Thousands of Google employees have signed an open letter urging the tech giant not to work on a US government surveillance engine which could use artificial intelligence to improve the targeting of drone strikes.
"We believe that Google should not be in the business of war. Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled and that Google draft, publicize, and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology," reads the letter which was published by the New York Times on Tuesday.
It goes on to describe Project Maven as a "customized AI (artificial intelligence) surveillance engine that uses 'wide area motion imagery' data captured by US government drones to detect vehicles and other objects, track their motions and provide results to the Department of Defense."
It states that although Google Board of Directors member Diane Greene previously told staff that the technology would not be used to operate or fly drones or to launch weapons, it could still be used to assist in such tasks.
The letter also cites the "growing fears of biased and weaponized AI," while stating that Google is "already struggling to keep the public's trust."
"This contract puts Google's reputation at risk and stands in direct opposition to our core values. Building this technology to assist the US government in military surveillance - and potentially lethal outcomes - is not acceptable," it says.
Marine Corps Col. Drew Cukor, who is part of the US government team working on Project Maven, said it "focuses on computer vision - an aspect of machine learning and deep learning - that autonomously extracts objects of interest from moving or still imagery." He added that the only way to develop an AI system to fit the needs of the government is to have "commercial partners" working alongside Pentagon officials.
#1648361 at 2018-06-06 08:55:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2073 Day of Days Edition
Almost seems like we dodged a bullet here….
Google Ends Agreement with Pentagon After 3,000 Employees Call Artificial Intelligence Program Evil
Google was set to help develop an artificial intelligence program to help military drone strikes reduce the number of civilian casualties - that is, until 12 employees resigned from the company in protest and another 3,000 signed an open letter blasting the program as evil.
Google had an employee meeting to discuss whether AI should be used in the military, The New York Times reported on May 30.
Diane Greene, CEO of Google Cloud, announced the decision on Friday at an employee meeting, according to Gizmodo. There is a current contract with the Pentagon that expires in 2019, but it will not be renewed.
Drone strikes have had varying degrees of accuracy and have left some civilians dead in the wake of their attacks.
The project with the Pentagon, called Project Maven, aimed to implement the AI technology to pinpoint and determine what particular objects are in drone footage, thereby increasing the accuracy of the drone strikes, The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on March 6.
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The are some criticisms of AI being used in the military, and outspoken critics like Elon Musk speculate that AI in general is itself an existential threat to humanity.
"I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably that (artificial intelligence). So we need to be very careful," Musk said in 2014, according to The U.K. Guardian.
"I'm increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don't do something very foolish."
Google's involvement in Project Maven was supposed to be kept under wraps, and leaked emails reveal that employees at Google struggled to decide when or if to reveal its role in the project.
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But when the news broke in March that Google was a part of Project Maven, 12 Google employees resigned and more than 3,000 signed an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, asking him to terminate the contract.
"By entering into this contract, Google will join the ranks of companies like Palantir, Raytheon, and General Dynamics. The argument that other firms, like Microsoft and Amazon, are also participating doesn't make this any less risky for Google," the letter stated.
"Google's unique history, its motto Don't Be Evil, and its direct reach into the lives of billions of users set it apart."
Google happened to remove its "Don't Be Evil" motto from the preface of its Code of Conduct some time between April 21 and May 4, archives show, 18 years after introducing it.
https://www.westernjournal.com/google-ends-agreement-with-pentagon-after-3000-employees-call-artificial-intelligence-program-evil/
#1621651 at 2018-06-03 21:30:38 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2039: Q's back
June 2 (UPI) - Google announced it won't renew a contract with the Pentagon for artificial intelligence work months after the project became public in light of employee protests.
Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene told employees about the decision to let the contract expire Friday, Gizmodo reported. In March, the news blog revealed the controversial work in a report. http://www.breitbart.com/news/google-will-let-its-ai-contract-with-the-pentagon-expire-after-backlash/
https://8ch.net/qresearch/res/543463.html#544206
#1616709 at 2018-06-03 10:07:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2033: E-bake
Google won't renew a contract with the Pentagon that provides the company's artificially intelligent algorithms to interpret video images and improve the targeting of drone strikes.
The reports said Google Cloud business head Diane Greene told employees of the decision not to renew the 18-month deal past the end of 2019, when the current contract ends.
https:// apnews.com/4aa55aafba8b47528b0fd4edc29d6a6c/Reports:-Google-won't-renew-Pentagon-contract-to-use-AI
#1609623 at 2018-06-01 21:19:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2024: IT'S FRIDAYYYYYY Edition
Google reportedly won't renew its controversial military AI contract
Project Maven has attracted a lot of pushback.
The controversial government contract that led thousands of Google employees to sign a petition in opposition and dozens to quit in protest will not be renewed, Gizmodo reports. Project Maven has been billed by Google as a small, "non-offensive" deal through which it would provide open-source AI software to the Pentagon that could help the military flag drone images requiring further human review. But the project has been decried by many of the company's employees who believe it could hurt efforts to hold the public's trust and went against Google's "Don't Be Evil" motto.
According to three individuals who attended a weekly Google meeting this morning, Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene announced that the Project Maven contract would not be renewed when it expires next year. She said the backlash over the deal had been bad for the company and that the contract was pursued during a time when the company was actively seeking military work.
Internal emails obtained by Gizmodo showed that Google's plans for the project may not have been as low-key as the company wanted people to think. Google reportedly put at least 10 employees on the project, viewed the deal as a gateway for future military and intelligence contracts and sought and received security authorizations that would allow it to work on additional government contracts. The Project Maven contract is also apparently worth more than Google executives once said, pulling in around $15 million instead of the $9 million that was previously reported. Its budget also had the possibility of growing to as much as $250 million. Additionally, emails show that Google planned to build a surveillance system for the Pentagon that would let analysts "click on a building and see everything associated with it."
https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/01/google-will-not-renew-military-ai-contract-project-maven/
#1609095 at 2018-06-01 20:14:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2024: IT'S FRIDAYYYYYY Edition
Hmmmm….wonder why?
New sheriff in town?
Google won't renew drone AI contract with Pentagon
Google will not seek another contract with the Department of Defense to provide artificial intelligence for drone warfare, according to a Gizmodo report.
Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene reportedly announced the decision on Friday during a weekly internal meeting.
Greene said that the contract is set to expire in 2019 and that Google will not pursue a follow-up bid, according to Gizmodo.
She said the decision was the result of backlash the company has faced since details of its drone warfare A.I., Project Maven, were reported. Earlier this month, thousands of Google employees signed a letter asking the company to drop its contract with the government over Project Maven, and a dozen quit in protest as well.
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/390306-google-to-not-renew-drone-ai-contract-with-pentagon-report
8chan/8kun CBTS Posts (1)
#54374 at 2017-12-08 16:08:33 (UTC+1)
CBTS General #61 - Pensacola Edition
>>54367
A former high-profile Intel executive has joined Google's growing cloud computing business.
Diane Bryant, who was previously Intel's head of its data center business, will become the chief operating officer of Google's cloud unit, the search giant said Thursday.
"We are growing at an extraordinary rate as we enable businesses to become smarter with data, increase their agility, collaborate and secure their information," Diane Greene, Google's current head of its cloud business, said in a blog post. "Diane's strategic acumen, technical knowledge and client focus will prove invaluable as we accelerate the scale and reach of Google Cloud."
Bryant, who was a member of Fortune's Most Powerful Women list, had a long and established career at Intel. She was its highest ranking female executive following the departure of former Intel president Renée James, announced in 2015.