The unit was full of Academic researchers, who regularly published papers and collaborated with others on papers; the whole kerfuffle started with Google's unch

The unit was full of Academic researchers, who regularly published papers and collaborated with others on papers; the whole kerfuffle started with Google's uncharacteristic request to put a lid on Dr. Timnit Gebru's paper. To me, that doesn't sound like a team that expects, or is expected to just work quietly on internal - likely confidential - projects. I suspect Google leadership were on board, and wasn't even aware of the misalignment until Dr. Gebru declined to pull a paper that raised questions on a crown-jewels-level, Jeff-Dean-supported AI model that materially impacts Google's finances (and likely some leaders' bonuses too). Now that Google leadership is aware of the misalignment, I think its actions show the direction they are taking going forward.