Google’s DeepMind co-founder takes leave of absence amid reported controversy over some projects he led
- Mustafa Suleyman, 34, has taken a leave of absense from DeepMind, an artificial intelligence lab owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet
- Suleyman runs DeepMind’s ‘applied’ division, which deals with health, energy and technology sectors
- A spokesman said he was taking a ‘time out’, adding it was a mutual decision
- It is expected that Suleyman, who is in his 30s, will return by the end of the year
The co-founder of DeepMind, the artificial intelligence lab owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has taken leave amid apparent controversy over some of the projects he led, it was reported.
Mustafa Suleyman, 34, runs DeepMind’s applied division, which seeks practical uses for the lab’s research in health, energy and other fields.
Suleyman is a public face for the company and talks to officials and at events about AI and measures needed to limit malicious use of the technology.
Mustafa Suleyman, 34, (pictured), the co-founder of DeepMind, the artificial intelligence lab owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has taken leave amid apparent controversy over some of the projects he led
‘Mustafa is taking time out right now after 10 hectic years,’ a DeepMind spokeswoman told DailyMail.com
She did not state why he has taken leave but Bloomberg reported some of his projects have been embroiled in controversy in recent years.
It is expected he will be back towards the end of the year in what she claimed was a ‘mutual decision.’
Suleyman founded DeepMind in 2010 alongside current Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis.
Four years later, Google bought DeepMind for currently $486 million, which led to an expensive race in Silicon Valley for specialists in the field of Artificial Intelligence.
DeepMind was at the center of controversy in 2017 over its first product which was a mobile app called Streams related to the health sector.
The app intended to assist doctors in identifying patients at risk of developing kidney injury.
Mustafa Suleyman runs DeepMind’s applied division, which seeks practical uses for the lab’s research in health, energy and other fields
Suleyman founded DeepMind in 2010 alongside current Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis, (pictured)
When sharing information with DeepMind for work on Streams, London’s Royal Free did not comply with the Data Protection Act when it passed on personal information of around 1.6 million patients, the U.K’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found.
Based in London, it shares operations with the US-based Google Health unit, but Google states that patient data remains under DeepMind’s control and the move to Google does not affect anything.
In late 2018, Google said the team that created Streams would join a new Google division called Google Health.
Forbes reported that Suleyman had argued for the London-based business to operate independently of Google, according to former DeepMind employees.
According to Bloomberg news, Suleyman served on a smaller group within the company to vet particular projects after issues over a Google AI contract with the Pentagon.
Suleyman, whose mother works in healthcare, established the DeepMind Health team and it eventually had 100 staff working there.