Pedro Domingos

If it weren’t for minority protection there would be no gay marriage, no end to slavery, no universal suffrage, no social security, no pension system, no minimum wage. Why is it so hard to realize that AI and ML and CS in general should be subject to societal rules and ethics?

That is not an accurate statement, but in any case: minorities are entitled to protection of their rights; they're not entitled to dictate to the majority, which is what some people are trying to do here.

You do realise that, compared to the neurips board/convenors (a large group of diverse researchers who also widely discuss potential changes with the broader neurips community) you are "the few trying to dictate to the many", right?

I'm not dictating anything, just voicing my opinions. On the other hand, the NeurIPS chairs did dictate the inclusion of broader impact sections and ethics-board reviews for papers. That's the problem.

"What a great excuse for letting the few dictate to the many." Is one of the sentences that caused the most damage throughout history. All minority suppression/oppression comes from this idea. Unbelievable to see it said in all seriousness by an educated person, let alone a prof.

Those are false statements. Also, "letting the few dictate to the many" is the definition of dictatorship. Sounds like you're in favor of it.