Google employees resign over censored China search engine project
San Francisco, Sep 14 : Seven Google employees have resigned citing lack of corporate transparency after the Internet giant revealed its efforts to re-enter China through a censored search application code-named project "Dragonfly".
The company's staffers shared the list of names on an email list dedicated to discussions of ethics and transparency issues at Google.
"Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed the existence of the list, which is made up largely of software engineers whose experience at Google ranges between one and 11 years," BuzzFeed News reported late on Thursday.
One of the names on the list includes former Google Senior Scientist Jack Poulson, who worked for Google in Toronto before resigning last month.
About 1,000 employees signed an open letter asking the company to be transparent about the project and to create an ethical review process for it that includes rank-and-file employees, not just high-level executives, according to CNET.
"The reported resignations illustrate a shifting cultural environment at Google, where employees have been more outspoken, publicly challenging strategy set by the company's leadership," the CNET report added.
This comes days after it was announced that Google Cloud's artificial intelligence (AI) Chief Scientist Fei-Fei Li would be replaced by Andrew Moore, dean of Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science.
Google's reported plan to launch a censored version of its search engine in China has come under heavy criticism from a former Asia-Pacific head of the company's free expression issues who called it a "stupid move".
The search engine giant had launched a search engine in China in 2006 but pulled the service out of the country in 2010, citing Chinese government efforts to limit free speech and block websites.
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Finland's President Stubb kicks off 4-day visit to India; trade, innovation top agenda
New Delhi (PTI): Finnish President Alexander Stubb began a four-day visit to India on Wednesday to bolster bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade, investment and critical technology.
Stubb will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday following which the two sides are expected to firm up a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to boost cooperation in a number of sectors.
The crisis in West Asia is likely to figure prominently in the meeting.
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"The visit will further strengthen the relations between Finland and India, including in the area of trade," Stubb said before leaving for New Delhi.
The Finnish president will grace as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue on Thursday evening.
Stubb was accorded a warm welcome at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.
"India and Finland share a warm and friendly relationship rooted in shared democratic values. President Stubb's visit will impart further energy to India-Finland relations," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.
The Finnish president is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and business leaders.
Stubb's visit to India comes weeks after Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo travelled to New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit.
The Finnish president will also meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.
Stubb will travel to Mumbai on Friday where he is scheduled to meet several business leaders. The Finnish leader will conclude his visit on Saturday.
