It was revealed that Microsoft (MS) reduced the scale of the AI ​​ethics team from 30 to 7 in October of last 12 months, and recently completely dismantled it.

Analysts say that it’s because it’s becoming an obstacle to the launch of latest AI model products, that are within the means of being piled up recently.

MS recently launched a lot of various enterprise products, including search engines like google and yahoo and web browsers that introduced ‘ChatGPT’ in a brief time frame. Specifically, ‘GPT-4’, which OpenAI unveiled on the fifteenth, can be showing rapid progress, similar to being the primary to introduce it to the search engine ‘Bing’.

Nonetheless, the activities of the AI ​​Ethics Team mentioning the potential risks and hostile effects of AI and demanding solutions appear to have been seen as an obstacle to the launch of latest products that require such quick decisions and daring momentum.

On this regard, Platformer reported on the 14th (local time) that Microsoft recently fired all seven AI ethics team members who had supervised ethics related to AI software development while carrying out mass layoffs.

The MS AI Ethics Team, composed of engineers, designers and philosophers, was launched in 2020 with 30 members. Nonetheless, in October of last 12 months, the team was reduced to seven by distributing it throughout Microsoft.

Then, because the seven remaining members were fired this time, Microsoft’s AI ethics team was completely disbanded. The move comes as Microsoft invests billions more in partnership with OpenAI to enhance its Bing search engine and Edge web browser with a recent, next-generation large language model.

Platformer noted that the choice raises questions on Microsoft’s commitment to “attempting to be certain that responsible AI principles and product design are closely intertwined.” It is time to commercialize controversial AI tools to make them accessible to the masses, so questions like these are sure to grow.

The AI ​​Ethics team has until recently been working to discover risks that will arise from Microsoft integrating OpenAI technology across its suite of products. Nonetheless, it is thought that CTO Kevin Scott and CEO Satya Nadella recently put pressure on the team to release the newest OpenAI model and the following version as soon as possible.

The media also reported that members of Microsoft’s AI ethics team attributed their dismissal to “because Microsoft focused on launching AI products before its competitors and placed less importance on long-term and socially responsible issues.” told

Chan Park, cpark@aitimes.com