Timnit Gebru—Criticized tech executives for rebranding as AI safety advocates after contributing to harmful technologies
Gebru has consistently called out tech executives who pivot to AI safety narratives after building potentially harmful technologies. In December 2025, she urged the public to question such rebrandings, arguing that the AI safety discourse is being co-opted by the same actors who created the problems, diverting attention from concrete harms to speculative existential risks.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Oversight | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Corporate Transparency | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.409 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.55)
Evidence (1 signal)
Gebru urged public scrutiny of tech executives rebranding as AI safety advocates
In December 2025, Gebru publicly urged people to question tech executives who rebrand themselves as AI safety advocates after contributing to potentially harmful technologies, arguing the AI safety discourse is being co-opted.