Google CEO says internal rancor over AI due to transparency

Pichai said that listening to staff is an important part of Google’s culture and he wants to work with employee groups on sustainability and diversity and inclusion efforts. — Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc chief executive officer Sundar Pichai said employee dissent about Google’s artificial intelligence work seems intense because the company is so transparent.

“Part of the reason you see a lot of debate, I mean, we engage as a company,” Pichai said Thursday during a World Economic Forum discussion. “We are a lot more transparent than most other companies, and so you do see us in the middle of these issues. I take it as a sign that we allow for debate to happen around this area and we need to get better as a company. We are committed to doing so.”