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Quotation Archive

Timnit Gebru Quote on Data: Data Is Not Neutral

Gebru urges us to interrogate the data, since data is not neutral. On the dangers of stochastic parrots and critical approaches to AI datasets.

Quotation archive

“We need to interrogate the data, because data is not neutral.”

Timnit Gebru · On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots

Quote record

Author

Timnit Gebru

Source

On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots

Chapter / location

2021

Tradition

gebru · data · datasets · ai-ethics · criticality

Source information

From On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots, 2021.

Original language: English

Translation

Translated from English into English using a named scholarly edition.

Context

Read the contextual commentary in this archive entry.

Interpretation

Gebru urges us to interrogate the data, since data is not neutral. On the dangers of stochastic parrots and critical approaches to AI datasets.

Knowledge network

Related Archive Records

Historical Context

This passage is attributed to Timnit Gebru in On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots. Gebru urges us to interrogate the data, since data is not neutral. On the dangers of stochastic parrots and critical approaches to AI datasets. The wording should be checked against Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Shmargaret Shmitchell, On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?, because edition, translation, and location determine how confidently the sentence can be quoted and interpreted.

Meaning

In context, “We need to interrogate the data, because data is not neutral.” addresses concerns linked to gebru, data, datasets, ai-ethics, criticality. Its force depends on the contrast or problem surrounding it, not merely on the sentence in isolation. A sound reading distinguishes the literal claim, the rhetorical emphasis, and any broader conclusion readers may be tempted to add.

For Timnit Gebru Quote on Data: Data Is Not Neutral, the key interpretive question is what the quoted words are doing in the argument: defining a concept, drawing a contrast, warning the reader, or compressing a longer line of reasoning. Answering that question requires the surrounding paragraphs and the intended audience, especially when a translated term may carry several meanings.

Philosophical Interpretation

The passage indexed as Timnit Gebru Quote on Data: Data Is Not Neutral can be compared with Timnit Gebru, Machine Ethics, Objectivity, Criticality, What Is Algorithmic Bias. One interpretation emphasizes the author’s immediate argument; another asks how the wording applies beyond its original setting. Both require limits: a memorable quotation can illuminate a position, but it cannot substitute for the reasons and qualifications developed in the source work.

Knowledge Network

Archive references

Sources

1 scholarly source
  • 01
    On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?By Emily M. Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major, and Shmargaret ShmitchellConsult source
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Source and quality checks completed

Quality check completed 2026-08-17

◈Based on 1 scholarly source◈Last updated 2026-08-17