Welcome to They Used To Be ... a weekly interview podcast with people who are no longer in a role that once defined them. What can they see (and say) now?
Sofia Liguori used to be an AI research engineer at Google DeepMind. But after three and a half years inside one of the world's most influential companies, Liguori recently resigned publicly, published an open letter, and accused the industry of normalising military and surveillance applications of artificial intelligence.
She explains how witnessing Israel's war on Gaza, learning more about Google's military contracts with the United States, and participating in internal employee activism forced her to confront questions she could no longer compartmentalise.
Liguori also challenges some of the most common assumptions about AI, arguing that the greatest danger isn't necessarily when the technology fails, hallucinates or escapes human oversight, but when it works exactly as designed. Despite concerns about legal repercussions, she says speaking publicly was worth the risk and encourages others to do the same.
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Senior Producer: Alyssa Partington
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