I have failed to do any meaningful work on recommender systems alignment. We launched an association, YouTube acknowledged the problem with disinformation when we talked to them privately (about COVID, for example, coming from Russia, for example), but said they will not do anything, with or without us. We worked alone, I was the single developer. I burned out to the point of being angry and alienating people around me (I understand what Timnit Gebru has went through, because Russia (my home country) is an aggressor country, and there is a war in Tigray as well, which is related to Ethiopia, her home country). I have sent many angry/confusing emails that made perfect sense for me at the time… I went through homelessness and unemployment after internships at CHAI Berkeley and Google and a degree from a prestigious European university. I felt really bad for not being able to explain the importance of the problem and stop Putin before it was too late… Our colleagues’ papers on the topic were silenced by their employers. Now I’m slowly recovering and feel I want to write about all that, some sort of a guide / personal experience on aligning real systems / organizations, and that real change comes really, really hard.
Thanks for sharing. I think writing up some of these experiences might be really really valuable, both for your own closure and for others to learn. I can understand, though, that this is a very tough ask in your current position.
I have failed to do any meaningful work on recommender systems alignment. We launched an association, YouTube acknowledged the problem with disinformation when we talked to them privately (about COVID, for example, coming from Russia, for example), but said they will not do anything, with or without us. We worked alone, I was the single developer. I burned out to the point of being angry and alienating people around me (I understand what Timnit Gebru has went through, because Russia (my home country) is an aggressor country, and there is a war in Tigray as well, which is related to Ethiopia, her home country). I have sent many angry/confusing emails that made perfect sense for me at the time… I went through homelessness and unemployment after internships at CHAI Berkeley and Google and a degree from a prestigious European university. I felt really bad for not being able to explain the importance of the problem and stop Putin before it was too late… Our colleagues’ papers on the topic were silenced by their employers. Now I’m slowly recovering and feel I want to write about all that, some sort of a guide / personal experience on aligning real systems / organizations, and that real change comes really, really hard.
Thank you for sharing, this seems like an incredibly important and valuable effort and story.
Another issue is unemployment and homelessness.
This outcome doesn’t seem acceptable for people with the motivations, efforts and experiences described in your account.
Thanks for sharing.
I think writing up some of these experiences might be really really valuable, both for your own closure and for others to learn. I can understand, though, that this is a very tough ask in your current position.