Aug 02, 2021 20:00:00

It is ethically problematic that high-tech companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook are providing huge amounts of money to universities and research institutes.

by Huzaifa abedeen

Six major EU academic institutions have received billions of dollars in funding from Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft, and issues related to the business model of technology companies such as privacy, data protection, AI ethics, and competition in the digital market. The British magazine New Statesman reports that he is studying. New Statesman points out that research funded by tech companies is focused on the tech companies themselves, which raises ethical issues if the research is a major funder.

How Google quietly funds Europe's leading tech policy institutes

https://www.newstatesman.com/business/sectors/2021/07/how-google-quietly-funds-europe-s-leading-tech-policy-institutes

For example, the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Ethics of Technische Universität München in Germany received a $ 7.5 million grant from Facebook in 2019, and has secured research funds for five years. That thing. In addition, the Internet and Social Research Institute of Humboldt University is funded by Google for about 14 million euros (about 1.82 billion yen). It is said that technology companies account for one-third of the funds provided by the institute to third parties.

Despite the fact that they are actually funded in this way, the fact that some researchers do not disclose that they are funded by technology companies poses a problem with research transparency. New Statesman points out. 'We don't feel any overt pressure to'refrain from criticizing the companies that sponsor the university'in our research,' a tech-funded researcher told New Statesman. increase.

But anonymous researchers testify that they have a lot of influence from tech companies. 'Technology companies build relationships with scholars who aren't critical of themselves and give them incentives to access the data they need,' he said. He claimed to support him as a 'government scholar.'

'Companies such as Google and Facebook are sponsoring universities to increase their presence in the industry,' said Michelle Benard, who was responsible for

academic outreach at Google's French branch. I'm witnessing. He said he was in the job of building relationships with universities to research AI, the Internet, and cloud computing, but in 2017, just before retirement, there is a tendency for themes in line with technology policy to be emphasized. He felt that he was there.

New Statesmen claims that Luciano Floridi , a professor of philosophy and information ethics at the University of Oxford's Internet Institute, is one of the researchers who receive generous support from technology companies. Mr. Floridi is a technical policy expert who participates in the European Commission, the Data Ethics Innovation Center in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Financial Action Agency, etc., and is funded by Google, DeepMind, Facebook, Tencent in China, and Fujitsu in Japan. He said he is conducting research.

Mr. Floridi has a close relationship with Google among related companies,

and he also participated in Google's 'right to be forgotten ' committee and in-house ethics committee. Floridi has also been involved in writing research treatises on Google's search engines, but the authors of studies that affirm Google, including Floridi, have not disclosed any financial interests with Google. New Statesman points out.

According to a New Statesman study, of the 19 faculty members who have disclosed funding at the University of Oxford's Internet Research Institute, 13 are directly funded by technology companies and one is in full research from Google. It seems that it is funded. As a result, nearly 75% of the scholars surveyed at the institute are funded by major technology companies.

In an email to New Statesman, Floridi said, 'My research and supervision work is done with respect for academic freedom and without the influence of funders. Regularly gives rigorous advice to technology companies and criticizes their behavior when asked by the company or by governments and regulators. '

When asked why he didn't announce funding from Google, Floridi said, 'Funding from Google, as well as funding from other companies, has any impact on my work in this treatise. I haven't given it. '

Victoria Nash, director of the University of Oxford's Internet Research Institute, said, 'Receiving support from various sources is in line with the government's recommended funding model for higher education institutions. External funding is the result of research. It doesn't compromise value or completeness. In fact, our faculty and students have strongly criticized the practices of technology companies. '

'Technology companies aren't trying to wipe out all the criticisms, they're trying to amplify the criticisms that are convenient for them,' said an anonymous researcher.

A Google spokeswoman told New Statesman, 'We take pride in supporting researchers at academic institutions, universities, and research institutes to examine the impact of technology on society. We are doing world-leading research, and we support researchers and organizations while maintaining rigorous means and transparency to ensure independence. '