Twitter adds former Google AI chief Fei-Fei Li as board member as it grapples with coronavirus misinformation

Twitter has added former Google AI chief Fei-Fei Li to its board of directors, the company announced in a press release Monday

The appointment comes amid a flurry of coronavirus misinformation that’s putting Twitter's ability to use AI tools to police its platform to the ultimate test

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Published: 10:09am, 12 May 2020Updated: 10:09am, 12 May 2020

Twitter added a renowned expert in artificial intelligence (AI) to its board of directors on Monday, in a move that signals the increasing importance that the social media company is placing on AI.

Fei-Fei Li, a computer science professor at Stanford University and former VP at Google, will join Twitter's board as an independent director effective immediately, the company announced in a press release.

Li brings significant AI heft to Twitter as it competes for talent in one of the most in-demand fields of technology, along with some of the controversy that has accompanied AI's rising role within the tech industry.

Li previously worked as Google's chief scientist for AI and machine learning, where she had been a rising star before leaving amid controversy surrounding the company's contracts to develop AI tools for the Pentagon.

Leaked emails discussing the initiative, called Project Maven, prompted outrage among employees, who said they suggested Li – a frequent public advocate for the ethical use of AI – was more worried about Google's public image than the ethical concerns of the technology.

After a dozen employees quit in protest, Google eventually pulled the plug and decided not to renew the project.

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