Peng Li

🚨 Call to Action: Demand Accountability and Request Refunds from NeurIPS! 🚨 🛑 To @NeurIPSConf: If you don't show your attitude, we will show ours! 🛑 We demand: 1️⃣ A full public apology from NeurIPS and the keynote speaker. 2️⃣ Refunds for all affected attendees. ❗️ Let’s make our voices heard! ❗ 📧 Email your complaint (you can use the following template) to NeurIPShotline@gmail.com and retweet this post to spread the word. Together, we can fight for accountability and inclusivity in academia. #NeurIPS2024 #AccountabilityNow #AcademicIntegrity #StopRacismInAcademia At @NeurIPSConf, the keynote speech featured discriminatory remarks targeting Chinese researchers. This act of blatant racial bias has deeply hurt the academic community. NeurIPS’ response, referring to it as mere "cultural generalization," falls far short of what is expected. ------> Complaint Email Template <----- Subject: Formal Request for Refund and Public Apology Regarding Racist Remarks at NeurIPS 2024 Keynote Speech Dear NeurIPS Organizing Committee, I am writing to formally express my profound disappointment and outrage regarding the openly discriminatory and racially charged remarks made during the keynote speech at NeurIPS 2024. The incident in question is not merely a "cultural generalization," as described in your statement, but an explicit act of racial bias that has caused significant harm to the dignity and reputation of Chinese researchers and the broader academic community. NeurIPS, as the organizer of this event, bears direct responsibility for this incident. The keynote speaker was invited by NeurIPS, making this incident a failure of due diligence and a breach of your own commitment to fostering an inclusive, safe, and respectful environment. This is a clear violation of NeurIPS' Code of Conduct and undermines the trust that the global research community has placed in your organization. As a participant who paid a significant registration fee to attend NeurIPS under the expectation of a professional and inclusive environment, I demand the following actions: 1. A full refund of my registration fee, as the conference has failed to uphold its stated standards of inclusivity and professionalism. 2. A formal, public apology from both NeurIPS and the keynote speaker, acknowledging the harm caused by this incident and committing to actionable measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future. If these demands are not met, we reserve the right to take further actions, including but not limited to: 1. Boycotting future NeurIPS events, urging other members of the academic community to do the same. 2. Filing a formal complaint to relevant authorities in Vancouver, where NeurIPS 2024 is hosted, to highlight the discriminatory nature of this incident and its potential legal and ethical violations. 3. Raising awareness across major academic and social media platforms to ensure accountability and transparency regarding this issue. This incident has cast a long shadow over NeurIPS' reputation as a global leader in AI research. Failure to address this issue adequately will only deepen the harm done to the trust and inclusivity of the academic community. I urge NeurIPS to take immediate and decisive action to rectify this situation. Sincerely, [Your Full Name] [Your Contact Information]

As an @MIT alum, I am appalled to see these comments maligning the integrity of an entire nation of people. This is both factually and ethically wrong. Please know that these comments do not reflect the views of the MIT community, who stand with you.

Mitigating racial bias from LLMs is a lot easier than removing it from humans! Can’t believe this happened at the best AI conference @NeurIPSConf We have ethical reviews for authors, but missed it for invited speakers? 😡

I'm shocked to see racism happening in academia again, at the best AI conference @NeurIPSConf. Targeting specific ethnic groups to describe misconduct is inappropriate and unacceptable. @NeurIPSConf must take a stand. We call on Rosalind Picard @MIT @medialab to retract and apologize for her statement.