AI Drama: Google DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman abruptly placed on leave, no reason given for departure

Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman has been placed on leave from the applied artificial intelligence lab he ran.

No reason was given.

Suleyman led a much-criticized unit that focused on applied AI and healthcare.

Bloomberg's Giles Turner and Mark Bergen report:

Mustafa Suleyman runs DeepMind's "applied" division, which seeks practical uses for the lab's research in health, energy and other fields. Suleyman is also a key public face for DeepMind, speaking to officials and at events about the promise of AI and the ethical guardrails needed to limit malicious use of the technology.

[PHOTO: Foto: DeepMind DeepMind co-founder, Mustafa Suleyman - SHUTTERSTOCK]

Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of Google-owned AI lab DeepMind, has been placed on leave after controversy over some of the projects he led. https://t.co/jGDoojuxQj

- Rob Price (@robaeprice) August 21, 2019

This is extremely odd. Mustafa *is* DeepMind https://t.co/8CM56FTJKq

- Olivia Solon (@oliviasolon) August 21, 2019