Apple's Director of Machine Learning Resigns Due to Return to Office Work

Authored by macrumors.com and submitted by rainbowarriorhere

Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, has resigned from his role a little over four years after he joined the company after previously being one of Google's top AI employees, according to The Verge's Zoƫ Schiffer.

Goodfellow reportedly broke the news to staff in an email, saying his resignation is in part due to Apple's plan to return to in-person work, which required employees to work from the office at least one day per week by April 11, at least two days per week by May 2, and at least three days per week by May 23. "I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team," Goodfellow said in the email.

Apple employees began returning to Apple Park last month, with the three-day in-office work policy being enacted on May 23. Some employees have been unhappy about the plan to return to in-person work.

In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook during the summer, a group of employees said "Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between either a combination of our families, our well-being, and being empowered to do our best work, or being a part of Apple. This is a decision none of us take lightly, and a decision many would prefer not to have to make."

Splatpope on May 8th, 2022 at 08:26 UTC »

this is ian goodfellow, the dude that invented GANs, the technology behind, among others, deepfakes

BeastlyIguana on May 8th, 2022 at 00:03 UTC »

Holy shit the comments in that thread are hilarious. Those clowns are in complete denial that top talent in tech can now demand 100% WFH if they wish, no questions asked

not_user_4076 on May 7th, 2022 at 22:14 UTC »

Why is this offbeat? I understand allowing a senior staff member to depart because you don't want to accommodate working from home is extreme. But it's not unusual; there are millions of jobs that can be done remotely in businesses that have invested in office space. This sort of thing is very common.