Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the MatRead more

Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist at NYU, addresses Google employees during a protest rally in New York in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Former Google Activist Whittaker Expected to Join FTC as AI Adviser

By  |  Nov. 1, 2021 4:00 PM PDT
Photo: Meredith Whittaker, a research scientist at NYU, addresses Google employees during a protest rally in New York in 2018. Photo by Bloomberg

Meredith Whittaker, a former employee activist and artificial intelligence researcher at Google, is expected to be hired full time at the Federal Trade Commission as a policy adviser on AI, according to a person with knowledge of her pending hire.

Her FTC appointment would indicate the agency’s plans to heighten scrutiny over how Google and other companies apply AI to their software products. The agency, under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan, has said it is prioritizing looking at how technology platforms and other large companies affect marginalized communities—an area where Whittaker could provide insights. Whittaker’s current role at a New York University research group focuses on the way AI developed by Google, Facebook and others can inadvertently contribute to gender, race and disability discrimination by displaying ads for certain high-paying jobs only to white male users, for instance, or showing highly sexualized content in search results when people look for information about women of color.

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos by Getty.
Exclusive
Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project
Jony Ive, the renowned designer of the iPhone, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
From left to right: Blair Effron, Robert Pruzan and David Handler. Photos by Getty; Tidal Partners.
Exclusive Finance
Disputes, Employee Misconduct Rattle Centerview’s Silicon Valley Dreams
The San Francisco Bay Area–based bankers at Centerview Partners, the investment bank that advised Silicon Valley Bank’s owner and Credit Suisse through recent turmoil, got two doses of bad news last week.
Art by Clark Miller
Exclusive startups entertainment
MasterClass Takes a Crash Course in Frugality
MasterClass had a problem with the shoot featuring its latest star instructor, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty
Exclusive microsoft ai
How Microsoft is Trying to Lessen Its Addiction to OpenAI as AI Costs Soar
Microsoft’s push to put artificial intelligence into its software has hinged almost entirely on OpenAI , the startup Microsoft funded in exchange for the right to use its cutting-edge technology.
From left: Paul Graham, Garry Tan and Michael Seibel. Photos by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.
Exclusive startups ai
Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the Mat
Garry Tan was in his happy place. Surrounded by food trucks and techies basking in San Francisco’s September sun, the CEO of Y Combinator snapped selfies with entrepreneurs as he meandered through a crowd of 2,700 attendees at the startup accelerator’s annual alumni event.
Dave Rogenmoser, cofounder of Jasper. Photo via Getty.
Exclusive startups ai
Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth Slows
Jasper AI, an early darling of the generative artificial intelligence boom, has cut the internal value of its common shares 20%, according to former employees who were notified by the company.