Ok, Google is so high profile that everything they do wrong is scrutinied under the spotlight, but pointing out their flaws is sometimes fun.
Seems that Google’s automated search spell checker is a bit sexist when it comes to correcting terms like “she invented” / “she created” / “she discovered” to “he invented” / “he created” / “he discovered”.
No, Borat is not doing the behind the scenes programming at Google, as the algorithm makes other suggestions which go against the masculine grain; like a search for “she stupid” results in “Did you mean : he stupid”
Google tells Dave Wischnowsky at the Chicago Tribune:
Vote for this post : 0“Google develops its own spell-checking algorithms based on sophisticated machine learning methods, using cues from aggregated user input, Web documents, and many other sources,” the spokesperson replied via e-mail.
“The algorithm provides a ‘best-guess’ alternative suggestion that we think might improve the search results, and is completely generated without human input. It can be thought of as a suggestion offer, rather than a definitive answer.”
or Buzz it at Yahoo :
Comments
4 responses so far ↓
Jordan on May 15, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Normally these suggestions only appear when you misspell something, and they offer the most common spelling they see. But really, come on, the algorithm should know that “she” is a word.
Sushubh on May 15, 2007 at 3:12 pm
i saw it on digg first and found it to be super funny. :D
Bashar Abdullah on May 16, 2007 at 7:03 am
Jordan: The algorithm doesn’t only suggest alternative to misspelled words:
“‘The algorithm provides a best-guess’ alternative suggestion that we think might improve the search results”
it suggests alternatives that could improve results, and since inventors and creators are men more often than women (as it shows here, females don’t take it personal), it is suggesting that you search for he instead of she.
I love it’s fun also :)
rk on May 16, 2007 at 10:46 am
women of the world unite!!
Leave a Comment