Google’s autocomplete displays our inner dark discrimination – apparently.
A UN Women ad campaign is highlighting the discrimination found in Google search terms and its autocomplete algorithms
Well, if that’s all they have to worry about, all is well in the world, it isn’t? Well, why aren’t they worrying about something that is important? Apparently we Evil Menz are responsible for all these nasty autocomplete algorithms. Well, who else? The evil patriarchy is always to blame for everything.
While many of us interact with Google’s autocomplete feature several times a day, we rarely consider the mechanics behind it.
Change that to “never” and you will have it about right. I type my searches without even looking at the autocomplete.
Input just a few characters and the algorithm will mine through search data in order to anticipate what you’re looking for, based on what other people have searched for in the past.
Yeah… Whatever… So what?
Autocomplete suggestions differ according to variables such as region and time, but there tends to be a degree of consistency across results. So when I replicated the UN Women campaign search terms from New York on Monday night, the top three suggestions for “Women need to…” were: “Women need to shut up,” “Women need to grow up,” and “Women need to know their place”. Trying the term “Men need to …” generated “Men need to ejaculate”, “Men need to feel needed”. Oh and it seems “Men need to grow up” too. So there’s one small win for gender equality.
I think I just lost the will to live. People really do worry about this bollocks and, yes, it ‘s a “feminist issue”. Seems that feminists have a lot of issues these days. Issues that the women I know couldn’t give a stuff about. Probably because feminists and the UN don’t speak for ordinary women at all. Especially if those women are off message, which frankly everyone I know seems to be.
As Julia would say, this is a classic case of a first world problem. Still it gives the Guardianista something to keep themselves busy with.
[Check your first link.]
As the article notes, the suggestions are made by algorithm. In plain English, that means the search software looks at billions of other, similar searches and uses them to decide the most likely thing you want to search for.
It’s done entirely automatically. So to suggest any sort of bias is nonsense.
Google is simply doing its best to reflect what real people want.
Claiming that this shouldn’t happen and that people should should be given the “correct” suggestions is a hideous and subtle form of censorship and thought control.
And it proves, once again, that when the likes of The Guardian bleat on about freedom of expression/of the press, civil liberties, or any sort of state interference, they couldn’t really give a shit about it unless it affects them.
All they’re really interest in is force-feeding you their vile, socialist crap.
Link corrected.
Who has the TIME to worry about this claptrap?
“Women need to shut up,” “Women need to grow up,”
So why does she go and prove that exactly right? 😉
Reminds me of Bertolt Brecht – if you don’t like what the people are saying, change the people.
The whole article and the first comment are filled with so much bilious bitterness, one has to wonder at the misandry of the writers. Why is “Women need to know their place” more degrading than “Men need to feel needed”?
My name was given to me by Mrs and Mrs and Mrs Rodent to prevent others from judging me merely on my gender, sexual preference or skin colour, and so be knocked out by my witty insight. It also allows me a backdoor of accusing others of racism or sexism if they disagree with me.
Seriously? My god do these people have nothing else to do with their time, they should be off helping the cultural enrichers learn English or looking after small children in Syria (heavy sarcasm) or at the very least burning their bras and even further corrupting everything the women’s suffragette movement fought for, why are they bothering with this utter trivial bollocks.
Clearly they eat too many lentil burgers and hummus and not enough red meat and ice cream.
Makes me ashamed to be female.
Ditto, Kath. I said my piece on this in a previous post, so I won’t bore you all with it again, but really, these women should hang up their hats, pat themselves (or rather their forebears) for a job well done (in previous years), and go out and – well – get themselves a life, really.