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Google has suspended a senior artificial intelligence (AI) researcher for alleged sexual misconduct, according to a Bloomberg report.
The man in question is reportedly Steven Scott, who completed a PhD in statistics at Harvard University and joined Google in 2008 after a brief stint in banking.
A person familiar with the matter reportedly told Bloomberg that Scott — an expert in Bayesian statistics — was suspended by Google on Friday.
The reported suspension comes after data scientist Kristian Lum published a blog post last Wednesday saying a man named "S" grabbed her inappropriately at a statistics conference in 2010. She alleged that the same person took advantage of another woman on more than one occasion. Two sources familiar with the situation reportedly told Bloomberg that the man is Steven Scott.
In the post, Lum wrote:
"One night after the conference talks were over, a bunch of conference participants and I went for a swim in the ocean. While I was swimming around, S repeatedly grabbed me under the water, putting his hands on my torso, hips, and thighs. I tried to play it off and swim away. He picked me up and pulled me into his chest. He then started to carry me away from the rest of the group, presumably to have some sort of private moment with me that I had absolutely no interest in sharing with him. I struggled, gently at first and then more forcefully, and he let me go."
Lum also alleges that the same man "relentlessly pressured my friend, a female graduate student, to have sex with him." There are a number of other incidents described in the blog post involving "S" and other men.
Responding to the claims, Scott reportedly told Bloomberg in an email that he'd love to tell his side of the story before referring the news organisation to Google's press team.
Google spokesperson Gina Scigliano reportedly told Bloomberg that Google is investigating the claims.
Google did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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