Google's 'echo chamber' workplace clouding its impartiality: former employee

A former Google software engineer sounded off against the tech giant and its company culture following the launch of its new Gemini AI that has garnered harsh criticism over its large language model.

Speaking exclusively to FOX Business, Mike Wacker, who worked at Google from 2014 to 2019, says the flaws at Google run much deeper than the algorithm, which led its Gemini AI chatbot to generate historically “woke” and inaccurate images.

“The AI is more humanlike. But, on the flip side, it is more susceptible to the biases of the humans who are training these systems,” said Wacker “The echo chamber problem has always been there for a long time, but the introduction of AI has really amplified it.”

Resurfaced videos and tweets of Google employees making political comments have come come under scrutiny amid backlash to the company’s Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot. Smith Collection/Gado/Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Twitter/Screenshot

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Wacker was fired from Google, in his opinion, for being outspoken about politics and his conservative views. He ran a Republican newsletter that became the target of several HR complaints during his time at the company.

Wacker described a hostile workplace environment where progressive views were reinforced and conservative points of view were punished. This environment bled into Google products.

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“If you are a conservative or you’re Christian, you must very carefully measure your words. If you went into the wrong topic, maybe it’s just better not to speak at all,” said Wacker. “That definitely has an impact when they’re getting feedback internally — which voices do you hear, and which voices don’t you hear?”

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai REUTERS/Brandon Wade

Google posted a blog addressing the controversy surrounding Gemini, writing the AI image generator “missed the mark” and has suspended the service upon further review. In a company-wide memo, CEO Sundar Pichai called the AI blunder “unacceptable.”

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Wacker also recalls a specific incident at Google where the company’s team in charge of search manually manipulated the results for abortion.

“There was a list of search query terms. An alternative algorithm would be used for those search terms. I found the exact change which added abortion and abortions to the special list,” Wacker claims.

“This happened weeks after Pichai told Congress in sworn testimony, ‘We don’t manually intervene in any particular search result.'”

The Google AI logo displayed on a smartphone with Gemini in the background in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 8, 2024. Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Google is the most frequently used search engine worldwide, dominating more than 80% of the global search engine marketplace, according to Statista. The company is fighting an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice. The DOJ is accusing Google of being a search engine monopoly.

Original article source: Google’s ‘echo chamber’ workplace clouding its impartiality: former employee