At one of the most prominent artificial intelligence ( AI ) conference in the public last year , keynote utterer Elon Muskreportedly made a jokeabout “ bosom ” on a stage in front hundreds of researchers and engineers . He seemed to be concern to the name of the pillar AI league , NIPS , and its unofficial pre - conference consequence , the suggestively named ‘ TITS , ’ which launched last yr . The Neural Information Processing Systems group discussion , as it is formally known , is an outcome that draw in people from all across the AI and auto learning ( ML ) community , include employee of Google , Facebook , and Microsoft .
Reaction to the suggestive acronyms has been mixed and has launched a conversation about whether the name of the 31 - year - go NIPS — which has sexual connotations and is also a racist slur for Japanese people — should be change . But after surveying attendee , the board has decided to keep NIPS , leaving many in the notably male person - dominated field feeling frustrated and spawning a Twitter hashtag drive and a Change.org petition .
While discussion about the name has been filter since last year ’s group discussion — and has in all probability been a concern for some for much longer — the push to change the name intensified this calendar week .
According to NIPS , the survey was completed by 2270 appendage who had attend the conference in the last five long time : 294 who key out as women , 1881 as man , and 95 who either stated another sexuality or did not identify themselves as gentleman or women . The postal service states the results showed :
Of the manlike respondents , about 28 % are in favour of a group discussion name change . Of the female respondent , about 44 % are in favour of a name change , 40 % prefer the existing name , and 16 % expressed no preference . look closer , about as many female are strongly in favour of a name change ( 74/294 = 25 % ) as are powerfully react ( 76/294 = 26 % ) . There is some unbalance regarding geezerhood and geography : for instance , among the unseasoned American females , the fraction of participants in favour of a name change is large than in other subpopulation .
Please , please please change the name . It is sexist and a anti-Semite slur ! ! ! I ’m embarrassed every time I have to say the name of the conference .
As a char , I rule it offensive that the add-in is severely consider changing the name of the meeting because of an teenage mention to a woman ’s body . From my point of view , it show up that the board does not see me as an equal penis of the community , but as a woman first and a scientist bit .
I am a woman , I have experienced being plague by male person academic , and I would like this problem to be discussed and addressed . But not in this candidly almost sickening manner .
On Monday , the NIPS board announcedit would keep the nameas “ polling conducted by the Team did not yield a unclouded consensus , and no significantly honest alternative name emerged . ” Rather than alter it , the board decided to come up with “ concrete steps to improve the inclusiveness of the league ” and to “ undertake Modern , substantial diversity and comprehension initiatives and take further whole tone towards ensuring that the conference is welcoming to all participant , ” the blog position about the survey states .
But many people who have look the group discussion were swage by the board ’s determination .
Reverting to a poll is a simple mode to shrive the committee from taking any responsibleness for the decision . It ’s utilitarian to have this data when make a decision , but this should not be elemental reason the conclusion was made .
— Women+ in ML / DS ( @wimlds)October 24 , 2018
Anima Anandkumar , a Caltech prof and director of machine memorise research at Nvidia , started aChange.org petitionon Wednesday urging NIPS board member to change the name . The petition states that the name has promote “ unwelcome puns ” like theTITSpre - league and an unsavory t - shirt catchword , which “ add to the uncongenial surroundings that many ML researchers have unfortunately been see . ”
“ These incidents have make for up uncomfortable retention for some of us whose career paths have been affected by unwelcoming or molest behavior , ” spell Anandkumar .
Anandkumar was also one of many who used the#ProtestNIPShashtag to thread attention to the issue . By Friday afternoon , her petition had near 900 signatures .
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1055278000588021762
Therese Koch , a neuroscience PhD student at UT Southwestern , similarly condemned the board ’s conclusion in a Medium post style “ NIPS AI Conference to Continue express mirth about Nipples at the Expense of Women in Tech . ” In the Emily Price Post , Koch express “ the hearing cheered Elon Musk as he joked about tits and sapidity in a keynote talk last yr , ” and tell jokes about the name invite harassment .
Koch wrote that she initially felt the thoughtfulness to change the name “ seemed like a step in the ripe guidance , ” though she realise that the survey itself was flawed .
“ As a league on what is basically fancy statistic , you might expect them to have a better grasp on concepts like try out bias , ” Koch save . “ Women may not unanimously agree that the name is offensive , but that should n’t overshadow the fact that 130 women who respond to the survey want the name to vary ( along with many valet de chambre ) . ”
Jeff Dean , Google ’s oral sex of AI , told Wiredhe specify to discuss his concerns over the name with the NIPS board . On Twitter , Dean say , “ I think enough multitude are made to feel uncomfortable by the current name that the NIPS board should exchange the name of the @NipsConference . # ProtestNIPS . ”
Terrence Sejnowski , president of the NIPS plank , told Gizmodo that the chemical group “ has not ruled out reconsider the name Neural Information Processing Systems at some compass point in the future , ” but it need to prioritize inclusiveness .
“ Every endeavor was made to make the survey loose and fair , ” Sejnowski say Gizmodo in a statement . “ We have received some direct feedback since the loss of the decision about how the phrasing in the sketch might have been more accurate . ”
Sejnowski also said the board “ anticipated that the decision would be unpopular with some . ”
[ Wired ]
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