Hundreds of Google employees have signed a petition calling for the removal of a member of Google's new AI ethics board over her comments on immigrants and trans people

Getty

Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

• More than 500 Google employees have signed a petition that called for the removal of Kay Coles James, president of the conservative think-tank Heritage Foundation, from Google's recently announced AI ethics board, ATEAC.
• In the past, James has made anti-trans comments, including calling transgender women "biological males."
• The group, known as Googlers Against Transphobia, wrote that for Google to appoint James to the ethics board "elevates and endorses her views, implying that hers is a valid perspective worthy of inclusion in its decision making."
• Already, Alessandro Acquisti, a leading behavioral economist and privacy researcher, has stepped down from the board, saying he did not think it was "the right forum for me to engage in this important work."

Googlers are speaking out against a conservative appointee who was named to its recently announced AI ethics board over her previous statements on transgender rights.

On Monday, more than 500 Google employees signed a petition calling for the removal of Kay Coles James, president of the right-wing think-tank Heritage Foundation, who, in the past, has made anti-trans comments, including calling transgender women "biological males."

The group, known as Googlers Against Transphobia, wrote in its blog post announcing the petition that for Google to appoint James to the ethics board "elevates and endorses her views, implying that hers is a valid perspective worthy of inclusion in its decision making. This is unacceptable," they wrote.

The group also called James "anti-LGBTQ" and "anti-immigrant" for comments she has made publicly.

Google did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the petition.

According to Googlers Against Transphobia, the person responsible for appointing James to the ethics board said her inclusion was meant to help foster "diversity of thought."

The group, however, said that her addition "significantly undermines Google's position on AI ethics and fairness" and that because "the potential harms of AI are not evenly distributed ... those who are most marginalized are most at risk."

Google announced the AI ethics board - known as Advanced Technology External Advisory Council (ATEAC) - last Tuesday as a way for the company to address difficult ethical decisions it faces with AI.

"This group will consider some of Google's most complex challenges that arise under our AI Principles, like facial recognition and fairness in machine learning, providing diverse perspectives to inform our work," Google's VP of Global Affairs Kent Walker wrote in a blog post announcing the board.

Controversy followed almost immediately after the Heritage Foundation president was named to the eight-person council, with some speculating that her addition was Google's attempt to appease conservative lawmakers who have accused the tech giant of anti-conservative bias in the past.

Read more: Google set up an external ethics council for AI, but one of its members was called out for her views on trans people and immigration

Already, Alessandro Acquisti, a leading behavioral economist and privacy researcher, has stepped down from Google's ethics board, saying he did not think it was "the right forum for me to engage in this important work."

Numerous academics and other supporters also signed the petition on Monday calling for James' removal.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (209) 730-3387 using a non-work phone, email at nbastone@businessinsider.com, Telegram at nickbastone, or Twitter DM at @nickbastone.

Get the latest Google stock price here.