Google reportedly asked employees to ‘strike a positive tone’ in research paper

Google has added a layer of scrutiny for research papers on sensitive topics including gender, race, and political ideology. A senior manager also instructed researchers to “strike a positive tone” in a paper this summer. The news was first reported by Reuters.

“Advances in technology and the growing complexity of our external environment are increasingly leading to situations where seemingly inoffensive projects raise ethical, reputational, regulatory or legal issues,” the policy read. Three employees told Reuters the rule started in June.

The company has also asked employees to “refrain from casting its technology in a negative light” on multiple occasions, Reuters says.

Employees working on a paper on recommendation AI, which is used to personalize content on platforms like YouTube, were told to “take great care to strike a positive tone,” according to Reuters. The authors then updated the paper to “remove all references to Google products.”