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I would really like to hope that "people familiar with the matter" means Bengio off the record, and not some non-Bengio person with an axe to grind... impossib

I would really like to hope that "people familiar with the matter" means Bengio off the record, and not some non-Bengio person with an axe to grind... impossible to know, I guess.

whimsicalism 6y ago
? Commenting on the reasons someone made a decision doesn't mean that they have an axe to grind, any more than "anonymous aide familiar with Biden's decisionmaking says X" means that this anonymous aide has it out for Biden.
- gowld 6y ago
  This isn't someone speaking on background for the figurehead. It's a coworker injecting their own opinion/advocacy.
  - whimsicalism 6y ago
    Based on...? You're presuming what they are saying is untrue.
    - prepend 6y ago
      That seems more reasonable than assuming an anonymous source is right.
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
        It really isn't. If he really did leave for this reason this is exactly how you would expect it to be communicated, and if he didn't not only would the timing be suspicious, but there would probably be an actual reason for leaving given.
        prepend 6y ago
        The problem here is that you’re right and this is a likely way we’d find out. But it’s also lots of other possibilities. So assuming that it’s true is not a good idea since there’s no evidence that it’s true.
        sudosysgen 6y ago
        There is evidence that it is true - the timing, his defence of Timnit (which worked under him), the anonymous sources, and the deliberately vague resignation letter. To me, that it is true seems much more likely than the reverse.
- refenestrator 6y ago
  I didn't mean an axe to grind against this guy, necessarily, I meant in regards to this whole politically-charged sideshow. And "anonymous presidential aide says X" is always a political axe-grinding act. Those people don't just say things without an agenda. Historically, it's either someone testing a messaging line with prez approval or an act of factional warfare within the administration to try and shape the narrative.

I would really like to hope that "people familiar with the matter" means Bengio off the record, and not some non-Bengio person with an axe to grind... impossible to know, I guess.

whimsicalism 6y ago

? Commenting on the reasons someone made a decision doesn't mean that they have an axe to grind, any more than "anonymous aide familiar with Biden's decisionmaking says X" means that this anonymous aide has it out for Biden.

gowld 6y ago
This isn't someone speaking on background for the figurehead. It's a coworker injecting their own opinion/advocacy.
- whimsicalism 6y ago
  Based on...? You're presuming what they are saying is untrue.
  - prepend 6y ago
    That seems more reasonable than assuming an anonymous source is right.
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      It really isn't. If he really did leave for this reason this is exactly how you would expect it to be communicated, and if he didn't not only would the timing be suspicious, but there would probably be an actual reason for leaving given.
      - prepend 6y ago
        The problem here is that you’re right and this is a likely way we’d find out. But it’s also lots of other possibilities. So assuming that it’s true is not a good idea since there’s no evidence that it’s true.
        sudosysgen 6y ago
        There is evidence that it is true - the timing, his defence of Timnit (which worked under him), the anonymous sources, and the deliberately vague resignation letter. To me, that it is true seems much more likely than the reverse.
refenestrator 6y ago
I didn't mean an axe to grind against this guy, necessarily, I meant in regards to this whole politically-charged sideshow. And "anonymous presidential aide says X" is always a political axe-grinding act. Those people don't just say things without an agenda. Historically, it's either someone testing a messaging line with prez approval or an act of factional warfare within the administration to try and shape the narrative.