No ethics needed for AI? Microsoft sacks entire ethics and society team that ensures AI principles

Microsoft has sacked its entire ethics and society team in the fresh round of layoffswhich affected 10,000 employees, Platformer reported. The ethics and society team within the artificial intelligence organisation looked after ensuring whether or not AI principles were being implemented during product design.

Microsoft has doubled down on the implementation of AI innovation. The tech company also invested billions into its partnership with OpenAI, which is an American AI research and deployment company.

Microsoft has even teased a Thursday event about how it is "reinventing productivity with AI," which is expected to showcase its competing Word processor.

The ethics and society team appeared to be a vital cog as the company is aiming to make controversial AI tools available to the mainstream. But concerns were raised when reports emerged that the entire ethics team was sacked.

However, Microsoft still maintains an active Office of Responsible AI, which is tasked with creating rules and principles to govern the company’s AI initiatives. Microsoft states: "We are committed to making sure AI systems are developed responsibly and in ways that warrant people's trust".

As quoted by Platformer, the company said in a statement: "Microsoft is committed to developing AI products and experiences safely and responsibly, and does so by investing in people, processes, and partnerships that prioritise this."

WATCH |US bank failures impact mutual fund portfolios

It added, "Over the past six years, we have increased the number of people across our product teams and within the Office of Responsible AI who, along with all of us at Microsoft, are accountable for ensuring we put our AI principles into practice. […] We appreciate the trailblazing work the ethics and society team did to help us on our ongoing responsible AI journey."

Meanwhile, Platformer reported that employees told the outlet that the ethics and society team played a critical role. As quoted, one former employee said: "People would look at the principles coming out of the office of responsible AI and say, 'I don’t know how this applies'. Our job was to show them and to create rules in areas where there were none."

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE