英文新聞 | Google大舉多元友善大旗，但真的如此嗎?

今天有改變些小作法啦，我們網誌以podcast逐字稿的方式呈現，分享BBC新聞Google diversity head removed over anti-Semitic blog post。單字卡都會統一公布在IG，方便大家複習:)

IG 單字卡連結：https://www.instagram.com/jennifer_bbbbb  

Podcast 連結：https://open.firstory.me/story/ckphzqb9tqlbq0814fgssk78m/platforms

Google diversity head removed over anti-Semitic blog post

Google has removed its head of diversity over a 2007 blog post that said Jewish people had "an insatiable appetite for war and killing".

In a post about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that resurfaced this week, Kamau Bobb also claimed Jewish people had an "insensitivity" to suffering.

當然文章被刪除了，Google的發言人也告訴BBC，發文的Mr Boob目前也不在diversity team (多元小組?)。

"We unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offence and pain to members of our Jewish community," they said.

反正報導寫起來，Google 發言人後面就在嘴砲，說發文者已經在反省了，他之後會以他的本業(也就是科學、科技、工程、數學)為主。然後說我們跟猶太社群們一心，反對反猶太主義。新聞沒有說得很清楚，但應該有群體對於Bobb沒有被開除不是很滿意，他們的訴求是開除Bobb。

來看一下2007的部落格文章到底寫了什麼：

"If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defence of myself,"

"Self-defence is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering [of] others."

新聞在這說到Michael Dickson，他是head of the pro-Israel organisation Stand With Us，針對這件事發表了tweet "revolting, and anti-Semitic, comparisons between Nazi actions and that of the world's only Jewish country"

那po文的人 Kamau Bobb本人到底怎麼說呢? 他沒有發表任何公開發言，但根據the New York Post，Bobb有發email向Google猶太人同事們道歉，說他用野蠻的方式描述了整個猶太社群，但他真的想說的是

"What was intended as a critique of particular military action fed into anti-Semitic tropes and prejudice,"

"I think we can all agree, there is no easy solution to this situation. But that's beside the point," he added. "The way I expressed my views on that conflict were hurtful."

目前我也在看報導者的一篇讀者投稿，<號稱種族及性別平權的Google，為何在AI界掀起歧視的風暴？>，出刊日期是去年的12月29號，裡面談到Timnit Gebru，她要發表一篇論文，討論討大型語言模型（Large Language Models, LLMs）對環境跟邊緣族群的影響，被Google高層退件、拒絕其發表，Gebru後來在tweeter說，她因為寫信給內部團體，被高層Jeff Dean開除，這封信隨後也被媒體Platformer公開，裡面談到她的非裔身分在工作上帶給她什麼不方便，以及她被拒絕發表的論文。這封信很快掀起論戰，另外由Google現任和前任員工創立的Google Walkout For Real Change這個組織，也要求Google說清楚，為什麼要開除Gebru，也要說明為何阻礙學術自由，有超過2,600名Googlers及4,300名學術或公民組織簽署支持這項抗議活動。

CEO Sundar Pichai 說會查清楚到底發生甚麼事。到底Google有沒有因為葛布的性別、種族及社會運動者的身分給予不公平的待遇？科技巨頭主導的AI倫理研究，究竟是擔負起社會責任還只是做做公關表面？外界都等著Google調查的答案。