Google moves its 90-person AI responsibility team out of DeepMind, and staff are worried
Google is moving its roughly 90-person AI responsibility team out of Google DeepMind as part of a wider reorganisation at the company, according to an internal email viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The restructuring has raised concerns among some members of the AI responsibility team, according to two current DeepMind employees cited by the Journal. Some teams test Google’s AI models for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear risks, according to the people cited by the Journal. Reportedly starting in September, the team will move to Google’s global affairs organisation, which handles lobbying and public policy. The change comes as Google is bringing DeepMind more closely into the wider company structure. The move has raised concerns among some employees about whether the team will continue to have enough access to DeepMind’s AI research. Employees have questioned whether moving the team away from DeepMind could affect its ability to carry out independent research. They have also raised concerns about losing access to information about the work being done by teams developing Google’s Gemini AI models. The team works on several areas linked to AI safety and responsible AI. Other researchers study how people interact with AI systems and examine the psychological effects of chatbots.