AI brain drain to Google and pals threatens public sector's ability to moderate machine-learning bias
(2021/02/04)
- Reference: 1612438510
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/02/04/ai_brain_drain/
- Source link:
Boffins from Denmark and the UK have measured the AI brain drain and found that private industry really is soaking up tech talent at the expense of academia and public organizations.
In a paper
[2]
"Overall, our results based on a comprehensive analysis of bibliographic data support the idea of a growing flow of talent from academia to industry which may require attention from policymakers," the four researchers conclude.
The reason policymakers might concern themselves with such shifts is that private companies may not prioritize ethical and social concerns arising from artificial intelligence and machine learnings systems.
[3]
Prophets or profits?
As an example of the issues associated with AI systems, the paper's authors point to Google's controversial [4]dismissal of AI researcher Timnit Gebru from her position as Ethics Co-Lead at Google Brain, Google’s AI research unit, in December, 2020.
Gebru disagreed with Google managers about a conference paper she wrote with colleagues about the environmental and ethical issues associated with large AI-based language models that Google has come to depend upon for its major services.
Google AI ethics co-boss locked out of work account while probing controversial ousting of colleague [5]READ MORE
The web giant's decision to oust Gebru, which prompted [6]widespread criticism in the academic community, "underscores the risk that these labs may discourage employees from pursuing research agendas that are not aligned with their commercial interests, potentially resulting in the development of AI technologies that are unfair, unsafe or unsuitable beyond the use-cases of the companies that build them," the paper's authors argue.
The AI brain drain has been documented by other researchers. In [7]a 2019 paper , for example, University of Rochester business boffins Michael Gofman and Zhao Jin reported that "the brain drain of AI professors to the industry is unprecedented." They have even set up [8]the Brain Drain Index to illustrate their findings.
The authors observe that the flow of researchers tends to favor industry but does reflect some movement in the other direction. They suggest one explanation for this might be that some academic researchers may not care for the private sector environment – and judging by Gebru's experience, there are obvious downsides.
They also note that when all career changes among AI types are considered, most moves remain within academia.
[9]
From the paper ... a graph showing the movement of boffins to and from industry and academia. Click to enlarge
The shift from academia to industry is most pronounced, they found, among researchers affiliated with prestigious institutions, like Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Princeton, and MIT. And the top draw for those making a migration has been Google, particularly after 2015.
Chocolate Factory chomps
"In many cases Google accounts for more than 10 per cent of all researcher transitions into industry from top institutions," the paper says, noting that Facebook has also become a popular destination in the past five years.
The paper touches on some of the differences between private and public sector research. AI scholars working in industry tend to be cited twice as often and to publish less than those working in academia. At the same time, these industry AI researchers show signs of academic stagnation, suggesting their employers may be more interested in implementing established ideas than pushing the envelope with new techniques.
But the four researchers leave exploration of the effects of the AI brain drain aside to focus on the policy implications of AI pursued primarily for commerce, with considerations like ethics, sustainability, and the public good deprioritized.
[10]
"A burgeoning public interest sphere conducting this research without having to balance academic integrity with commercial interests is, as the Timnit Gebru case with which we began this paper, a critical requirement for this space, and one that may be threatened by the sustained flow of researchers from academia to industry that we have evidenced in this paper," the authors argue. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/02/04/drain.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_emergent_tech/artificial_intelligence&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YBwoLTULQOhLZcO7XkYMUwAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_emergent_tech/artificial_intelligence&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YBwoLTULQOhLZcO7XkYMUwAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/04/google_nlrb_complaint_ai_ethics/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/25/in_brief_ai/
[6] https://googlewalkout.medium.com/standing-with-dr-timnit-gebru-isupporttimnit-believeblackwomen-6dadc300d382
[7] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/db40/953e07460ae24af3f30961918fa4c8100150.pdf
[8] http://www.aibraindrain.org/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/02/04/braindrain.jpg
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_emergent_tech/artificial_intelligence&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YBwoLTULQOhLZcO7XkYMUwAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
In a paper
[1]PDF
distributed via ArXiv, authors Roman Jurowetzki and Daniel Hain, from Aalborg University Business School, and Juan Mateos-Garcia and Konstantinos Stathoulopoulos, from British charity Nesta, describe how they analyzed over 786,000 AI research studies released between 2000 and 2020 to trace career shifts from academia to industry and less frequent reverse migrations.[2]
"Overall, our results based on a comprehensive analysis of bibliographic data support the idea of a growing flow of talent from academia to industry which may require attention from policymakers," the four researchers conclude.
The reason policymakers might concern themselves with such shifts is that private companies may not prioritize ethical and social concerns arising from artificial intelligence and machine learnings systems.
[3]
Prophets or profits?
As an example of the issues associated with AI systems, the paper's authors point to Google's controversial [4]dismissal of AI researcher Timnit Gebru from her position as Ethics Co-Lead at Google Brain, Google’s AI research unit, in December, 2020.
Gebru disagreed with Google managers about a conference paper she wrote with colleagues about the environmental and ethical issues associated with large AI-based language models that Google has come to depend upon for its major services.
Google AI ethics co-boss locked out of work account while probing controversial ousting of colleague [5]READ MORE
The web giant's decision to oust Gebru, which prompted [6]widespread criticism in the academic community, "underscores the risk that these labs may discourage employees from pursuing research agendas that are not aligned with their commercial interests, potentially resulting in the development of AI technologies that are unfair, unsafe or unsuitable beyond the use-cases of the companies that build them," the paper's authors argue.
The AI brain drain has been documented by other researchers. In [7]a 2019 paper , for example, University of Rochester business boffins Michael Gofman and Zhao Jin reported that "the brain drain of AI professors to the industry is unprecedented." They have even set up [8]the Brain Drain Index to illustrate their findings.
The authors observe that the flow of researchers tends to favor industry but does reflect some movement in the other direction. They suggest one explanation for this might be that some academic researchers may not care for the private sector environment – and judging by Gebru's experience, there are obvious downsides.
They also note that when all career changes among AI types are considered, most moves remain within academia.
[9]
From the paper ... a graph showing the movement of boffins to and from industry and academia. Click to enlarge
The shift from academia to industry is most pronounced, they found, among researchers affiliated with prestigious institutions, like Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Princeton, and MIT. And the top draw for those making a migration has been Google, particularly after 2015.
Chocolate Factory chomps
"In many cases Google accounts for more than 10 per cent of all researcher transitions into industry from top institutions," the paper says, noting that Facebook has also become a popular destination in the past five years.
The paper touches on some of the differences between private and public sector research. AI scholars working in industry tend to be cited twice as often and to publish less than those working in academia. At the same time, these industry AI researchers show signs of academic stagnation, suggesting their employers may be more interested in implementing established ideas than pushing the envelope with new techniques.
But the four researchers leave exploration of the effects of the AI brain drain aside to focus on the policy implications of AI pursued primarily for commerce, with considerations like ethics, sustainability, and the public good deprioritized.
[10]
"A burgeoning public interest sphere conducting this research without having to balance academic integrity with commercial interests is, as the Timnit Gebru case with which we began this paper, a critical requirement for this space, and one that may be threatened by the sustained flow of researchers from academia to industry that we have evidenced in this paper," the authors argue. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/02/04/drain.pdf
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_emergent_tech/artificial_intelligence&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YBwoLTULQOhLZcO7XkYMUwAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_emergent_tech/artificial_intelligence&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YBwoLTULQOhLZcO7XkYMUwAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/04/google_nlrb_complaint_ai_ethics/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/25/in_brief_ai/
[6] https://googlewalkout.medium.com/standing-with-dr-timnit-gebru-isupporttimnit-believeblackwomen-6dadc300d382
[7] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/db40/953e07460ae24af3f30961918fa4c8100150.pdf
[8] http://www.aibraindrain.org/
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/02/04/braindrain.jpg
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_emergent_tech/artificial_intelligence&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YBwoLTULQOhLZcO7XkYMUwAAAA8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
jpo234
‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.’
Anonymous Coward
That doesn't match my experience of Research Scientists. They mostly dislike teaching anyway.
Not a new trend
Gene Cash
This has been happening since Symbolics hired most of the people away from MIT's AI Labs
Do AIs always act 'for the public good'?
not.known@this.address
I cannot help wondering if Skynet might not have had a secondary function of assisting to maintain public order, like Blue Thunder's (the film, not the helicopter) "Project Thor". It might have been built for the military, but Cyberdyne Systems was a private company...
Studying the obvious
ThatOne
People tend to go to whoever pays best? What a revelation! What's next, a study highlighting popes tend to be catholic?
Of course the best minds will go to Google, because it offers salaries the public sector can't even dream of. And of course this happens in the "trendy" domains like AI, from which Google hopes to make big money. I'm sure Google hires very few astrophysicists or paleontologists, for instance.
Anonymous Coward
The diagram neatly omits students who go on to become academics.
It is far more common for people to move from academia into industry. They are usually replaced by people completing their PhDs...
What is University for?
NIck Hunn
This seems to assume that the main purpose of university is to produce more academics, rather than educating people to play a useful role throughout society, so that we can continue to pay our academics.
Maybe we should base academic payscales on how many of their student got successful jobs?
What's to worry?
Google has shown that any ethical AI folks are not welcome there.