NeurIPS keynote speaker apologizes for reference to Chinese student

At the annual NeurIPS AI conference, MIT Media Lab Professor Rosalind Picard faced criticism for referencing a Chinese student's nationality during her keynote presentation. The controversy arose when Picard included a slide quoting an expelled Chinese student's excuse for using AI, which mentioned a lack of moral education. The slide also contained Picard's note stating, “Most Chinese who I know are honest and morally upright.” This reference was criticized by attendees and scientists like Google DeepMind's Jiao Sun and Meta's Yuandong Tian, who labeled it as racial bias.

In response to the backlash, NeurIPS organizers issued an apology, emphasizing their commitment to diversity and inclusivity. Picard also apologized, acknowledging that mentioning the student's nationality was unnecessary and irrelevant to her point. She expressed regret for the unintended negative associations and the distress caused, stating her willingness to learn from the experience and seek ways to make amends to the community.

Key takeaways:

MIT Media Lab Professor Rosalind Picard faced criticism for referencing a Chinese student's nationality during her NeurIPS AI conference keynote.
The reference was perceived as racially biased, prompting reactions from AI community members like Google DeepMind's Jiao Sun and Meta's Yuandong Tian.
NeurIPS organizers issued an apology, emphasizing their commitment to diversity and inclusion, and addressed the issue with Picard directly.
Picard apologized for the incident, acknowledging the unnecessary mention of nationality and expressing regret for any distress caused.

NeurIPS keynote speaker apologizes for reference to Chinese student | TechCrunch

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