Google fires Margaret Mitchell, another top researcher on its AI ethics team

The dismissal comes after prominent Black researcher Timnit Gebru was fired in December; both had called for more diversity among research staff

Google has fired one of its top artificial intelligence researchers, Margaret Mitchell, escalating internal turmoil at the company following the departure of Timnit Gebru, another leading figure on Google's AI ethics team.

Mitchell, who announced her firing on Twitter, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to Reuters, Google said the firing followed a weeks-long investigation that found she moved electronic files outside the company. Google said Mitchell violated the company's code of conduct and security policies.