The team was dedicated to ensuring that the AI features developed by Microsoft adhered to the company's ethical principles.
As part of recent company-wide layoffs that impacted 10,000 employees, Microsoft has reportedly laid off the entire Ethics and Society team, the part of the company’s AI sector that was responsible for ensuring that the AI features developed by Microsoft adhered to the company's ethical standards.
According to a recent Platformer report, the Ethics and Society team had a crucial role in translating significant concepts from the Office of Responsible AI (the division in charge of establishing comprehensive principles across Microsoft to govern corporate decision-making related to AI) into practical changes.
Microsoft still maintains its Responsible AI Office, although the Ethics and Society team has reportedly been disbanded.
The Ethics and Society team was reportedly comprised of approximately 30 individuals in 2020 and included engineers, designers, and philosophers. However, the team was reduced to around seven members in October 2022 as part of a reorganization. The majority of employees were not laid off – they were instead reassigned to other areas within the company.
As reported by Platformer, Microsoft's corporate VP of AI John Montgomery reassured the remaining members of the Ethics and Society team that the team was not disappearing, but instead "evolving". However, five months later, the team has been disbanded. Employees were allegedly informed of this decision through a Zoom meeting on March 6.
In a statement to Gizmodo, Microsoft noted that it "remains committed to developing and designing AI products and experiences safely and responsibly."
"Over the past six years we have increased the number of people within our product teams who are dedicated to ensuring we adhere to our AI principles," the statement reads. "We have also increased the scale and scope of our Office of Responsible AI, which provides cross-company support for things like reviewing sensitive use cases and advocating for policies that protect customers."
Prior to this, in response to Platformer, the company provided the following statement: "Microsoft is committed to developing AI products and experiences safely and responsibly. [...] Over the past six years we have increased the number of people across our product teams and within the Office of Responsible AI who, along with all of us at Microsoft, are accountable for ensuring we put our AI principles into practice. […] We appreciate the trailblazing work the ethics and society team did to help us on our ongoing responsible AI journey."
It should be noted that in a previous version, Microsoft unintentionally confirmed that the Ethics and Society team no longer exists. Additionally, the company had previously stated that staffing increases would occur in the Office of Responsible AI, rather than generally people who are "dedicated to ensuring we adhere to our AI principles."
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