Google has quietly updated the webpage of its Responsible Artificial Intelligence and Humanistic Technologies (RAI-HCT) team, which conducts research on artificial intelligence safety, fairness, and explainability, to remove references to "diversity" and "fairness."
Previous versions of this webpage used terms such as “marginalized communities,” “diverse,” “underrepresented groups,” and “equity” to describe the RAI-HCT team’s work. These words have been removed and, in some cases, replaced with less specific wording (e.g., “all,” “various,” and “many” instead of “diverse”).
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The changes were discovered by watchdog group The Midas Project after Google removed similar language from its Startup Founders Fund funding page. The company said in early February that it would lift its diversity hiring goals and review its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Google is one of many large tech companies to withdraw its DEI initiatives as the Trump administration targets them as "illegal" practices. Over the past few months, Amazon and Meta have rolled back DEI-related measures, and OpenAI recently removed references to diversity and inclusion from a webpage on its hiring practices. However, Apple recently resisted a shareholder proposal calling for the termination of its DEI program.
Many of these companies, including Google, have contracts with federal agencies.