As Google AI researcher accused of harassment, female data scientists speak of 'broken system'

Sexual harassment and groping allegations against a suspended researcher are part of an industry culture that condones sexist behavior, women say

Katherine Heller felt helpless. The Duke University professor was at a statistics conference last year when, she said, she witnessed Steven Scott, a senior artificial intelligence (AI) researcher at Google, make sexual advances on one of her female students.

According to Heller, when she spoke to Scott later at an event dinner, he was defensive and told the professor that she should be nice to him considering that he had secured her a Google-funded faculty research award.