what you need to know
- AI is a growing field of technology that powers several services, including Microsoft’s Bing Chat.
- Microsoft has invested or committed to invest $11 billion in OpenAI research and development.
- Microsoft just fired one of the teams responsible for making sure AI is used ethically.
- AI tools have been criticized by many professional artists and writers.
Microsoft’s new Bing Chat tool is making a splash, but the tech giant now lacks a dedicated team focused on implementing AI technology in a way that meets company guidelines.
According to a new report from Platformer (via The Verge (opens in a new tab)), Microsoft recently fired one of the teams responsible for managing ethics in the use of AI. This comes at a time when Bing Chat is growing in popularity, with the tool pushing Bing to over 100 million daily active users.
Platformer notes that while a set of guiding principles still exists in the form of Microsoft’s Responsible AI Office, there is no longer a team dedicated to interpreting these principles in a rapidly evolving field of technology.
“People would look at the principles that come out of the responsible AI office and say, ‘I don’t know how this applies,'” said one former employee. “Our job was to show them and create rules in areas where there weren’t any.”
Most of the team had reportedly already been moved to other parts of Microsoft, but the remaining employees on the ethics team were laid off on March 6, 2023.
“Microsoft is committed to developing AI products and experiences in a safe and responsible manner, and it does so by investing in people, processes and partnerships that prioritize this,” the company said in a statement.
“Over the past six years, we have increased the number of people on our product teams and within the Office of Responsible AI who, along with all of us at Microsoft, are responsible for ensuring that we put our AI principles into practice. […] We appreciate the pioneering work that Ethics and Society did to help us on our continued journey of responsible AI.”
In 2020, the Ethics and Society team had 30 members, including engineers, designers and philosophers. The team was whittled down to about seven people, according to the Platformer report.
The outlet also reported that the tech giant pushed to implement the AI quickly, resulting in the relocation of many employees.
“The pressure of [CTO] Kevin [Scott] and [CEO] satya [Nadella] is very, very high to take these latest OpenAI models and the ones that come after them and get them into the hands of customers at a very high velocity,” said John Montgomery, corporate vice president of AI in a meeting with the Ethics and Society team. ., based on audio obtained by Platformer.
The team reportedly backed down, but Montgomery said, “Can I reconsider? I don’t think I will.” He continued: “Because unfortunately the pressures are still the same. You don’t have the eyesight that I have, and you can probably be thankful for that. There’s a lot that’s grinding into the sausage.”
The CVP said at the time that the Ethics and Society team would not be eliminated. However, the company removed the team entirely during a call made on March 6, 2023.
Windows Central’s opinion
AI is becoming more popular and big tech companies around the world are rushing to find new ways to use it and take advantage of what it offers. This technology has also come under immense criticism as AI image generators collect data based on artists’ work without any credit or compensation. I personally follow a lot of artists and none of them are happy with the direction this technology is taking.
For a company like Microsoft to continue to invest in AI to the tune of billions of dollars, it needs to take a careful approach that helps people and doesn’t steal their work from others. Leaving the already withering Ethics and Society team that helped answer these types of questions does not inspire confidence.
