
Google studying ways to deal with offensive search suggestions and results - adamcarson
http://searchengineland.com/google-studying-ways-deal-offensive-search-suggestions-results-265654
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duskwuff
Good.

We often forget that machine recommendation algorithms do not operate in a
vacuum. Strange and offensive suggestions in Google search results often
appear _because_ curious users notice an odd suggestion and click on it,
causing it to rank higher -- not because the suggestion is inherently good or
useful.

The problem is only worse on some other sites, incidentally. The prominence of
suggested videos on YouTube has some really strange effects on the popularity
of certain videos. Similar effects exist with some Amazon products too (as
"customers also shopped for…"), as well as with many other recommendation
algorithms.

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danjc
To me part of the problem is that they suggest an entire search phrase based
on a few words. It's ludicrous that typing "how to" suggests "make money" and
"make love". I feel like it would be better if they only provided suggestions
when there was a smaller spectrum of possibilities available. Sometimes it
feels like someone is trying to put ideas into your head. At best, the line
between helpful and harmful is very blurred.

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lacampbell
I switched to duckduckgo after google started putting up political messages on
their homepage in 2015. I don't need google to tell me what's fake and what
isn't, and what's offensive and what isn't.

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vonklaus
...and what simply _is_. If you go to wolfram alpha the number of google users
/ total internet is 42%. No idea why people dont consider this dangerous

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ionwake
I built www.thehivemind.online using the google suggestion apis, for a bit of
fun.

Only works in chrome, was trying to get around to finishing it for showHN, but
now I might never get a chance it seems.

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tyingq
Not photoshopped:
[http://i.imgur.com/GbQ4CSf.png](http://i.imgur.com/GbQ4CSf.png)

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user5994461
I don't get the problem. Google suggests what people are looking for. If
people wonders whether the holocaust happened, maybe the question should be
answered?

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unfathomable
More Orwellian censorship perhaps.

I mean how are you going to find "offensive" stuff in the first place unless
you were looking for it and want to read about it?

This reminds me of the time Google manipulated their SERP to hide holocaust
revisionist information.

~~~
harryjo
> This reminds me of the time Google manipulated their SERP to hide holocaust
> revisionist information.

It reminds you of .. the article you are commenting on, today?

~~~
unfathomable
Their vanguard stance on antisemitism in general.

[https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2065217/google-in-
con...](https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2065217/google-in-controversy-
over-top-ranking-for-anti-jewish-site)

[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/05/google-
al...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/05/google-alters-
search-autocomplete-remove-are-jews-evil-suggestion)

